Ep I: The Slave Jedi
by jdLevengood
Summary: A rebooted version of Episode I. In this version, Anakin Skywalker is a young man, and former slave, who saves the life of Queen Padme Amidala when she flees to Tatooine after the conquest of Naboo. She is accompanied by the newly minted Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who recognizes the Force power in Anakin. The three will lead the liberation of Naboo, initiating the Clone Wars.
1. Chapter 1

**It is a time of turmoil in the Republic, as centuries of peace stand to be broken by the coming storm of war. The Republic Senate, for generations the protector of peace in the known galaxy, has seen its authority wither away to nothing.**

 **With the loss of central authority, numerous dictatorial warlords have been able to secede from the Republic, so their systems will be held unaccountable for their actions. Many of these newly autonomous systems have waged wars to grow their nations, settle old grievances, or plunder their neighbors.**

 **One such newly independent system, the Neimoidian Federation, has invaded and conquered the planet Naboo. They accomplished this with the aid of the planet's native Gungans and the backing of Hego Damask, the ruler of the Muun consortium. This new alliance among the Separatists has strained the galaxy to the breaking point.**

 **Before the conquest of Naboo was complete, the planet's ruler, Queen Padme Amidala, sent out a message of distress to the Republic, appealing for help. While the sclerotic government has been unable to react, the Jedi Council has acted, getting approval to have two Jedi come to the planet.**

 **...**

A medium-sized ship emerges from hyperspace a substantial distance from Naboo and its surrounding blockade. It is a Republic transport that has been stripped of all markings identifying it as a Republic ship. This was done so the Federation warships would have no doubt the ship was there not to make war, it was merely there to deliver two observers, as had been agreed upon.

The pilot and co-pilot of the transport surveyed the scene before them, growing nervous. The planet was surrounded by warships, any one of which could have destroyed them before they even realized they were being attacked. While they knew an agreement had been made to give them safe passage, they also knew the agreement could be rescinded at any moment.

"Republic transport, state your mission and provide your authorization." The wheezy voice coming through the radio sounded unassuming and passive. They were just running through protocol, not looking to accuse the ship of being somewhere it shouldn't.

"We are here to deliver the Jedi envoys," the pilot said into his speaker as he keyed the comm. "They are to escort the queen to Coruscant, so that she may negotiate the armistice treaty to end this conflict." The pilot flinched as he said that last part, and his co-pilot noticed it. Once the comlink had been turned off the two were free to speak clearly. The co-pilot looked back to make sure the door to the passenger hold was closed.

"I noticed you had trouble getting out that last part." The co-pilot said to his superior.

"I'm just finding it hard to believe that everyone; the government, the Jedi, is simply going along with this. They're accepting this invasion. We're delivering these Jedi to facilitate the surrender of Naboo, all because everyone is too fearful to stand up to the authoritarian Muun dictator backing the Neimoidians."

The pilot looked back again to make sure the door to the passenger hold was closed. He didn't want the two Jedi back there to overhear what he was about to say, even though he wondered how much a closed door would prevent that. He knew they had the ability to read minds, although their code supposedly forbade them from using that power, save for certain circumstances. Of course, no one outside the ranks of the Jedi had any idea what those 'circumstances' were.

"You know, when I was young, I looked up to the Jedi, almost worshiped them. I believed all the stories I had been told. Granted, no one I knew had ever met one, but they all shared the stories. I heard all the time about the way they served the Republic and fought for peace." He glanced back at the passenger hold, figuring now that the two of them probably had an idea of what he was thinking and saying. "Now that I have met some and seen what they do myself, I am not impressed. They are nothing more than another cog in the corrupt power structure, just another group doing whatever it needs to in order to hold on to its own position."

The co-pilot shook his head as listened to the rant of his superior. He had never believed he was political, but the statement he made certainly revealed him to be someone who didn't care much for the Jedi. There seemed to be a lot of them lately. The citizens of the galaxy were not able to agree on much, but a growing hatred of the Jedi seemed to be one exception.

Having said his peace, the pilot stayed quiet as he guided the ship into the landing bay of the warship they had been directed to enter. He became extremely apprehensive as he saw all the guns surrounding the docking bay, knowing that at any moment one of them could open fire and destroy their ship. He had to remind himself that such slaughter of Jedi would not have been a wise act. The Neimoidians were known for being tentative and would never do something so bold. He breathed a sigh of relief once they were on the ground of the docking bay. He shut off the engines as they waited for the welcoming party, surprised to see it consisted of nothing more than a single protocol droid.

"There is a protocol droid here for the two of you," the pilot said into the intercom.

"Thank you, lower the landing ramp for it." The voice of the Jedi that replied sounded deep and authoritative. When the Jedi had entered his ship, the pilot had not gotten a very good look at them. They had been wearing their hoods over their faces. All he could tell was they were two human males, and one was noticeably older than the other. He guessed it was the older one who had given him the command, even though he had not heard either of their voices until now. They had said nothing to the two pilots when they met. From what he knew, this lack of communication was typical for the Jedi, given their arrogance. They didn't even introduce themselves, which was apparently normal behavior for them. The Jedi never told anyone their names as they practiced anonymity. Although the pilot had heard the reason for it, he never quite understood. It had something to do with all Jedi lacking individually and existing only as part of the Order. The council was afraid if individuals gave their names and became too well known, they would become too prideful.

The pilot did as he had been commanded and watched as the indicator light on his console showed the ramp fully descended. The protocol droid disappeared under the ship but emerged a short time later with the two Jedi following him. The pilot breathed another sigh of relief to see their portion of the mission was over; they had delivered the Jedi and could now fly back to Coruscant. The pilot had expected one of the Jedi to tell them they were free to leave, but neither one apparently felt the need to give him any such order.

"I am going to fire up my engines and exit," he said as he radioed the ship's bridge. He wanted to make sure there weren't any misunderstandings when he started the ship.

"Approved," came the reply. The pilot wasted no time in starting up the engines and exiting the ship. The calculations for hyperspace had already been made, and they disappeared into hyperspace the moment they were clear.

 **...**

The two Jedi followed the protocol droid through the halls of the ship. It led them to a conference room and told them to wait. Before the droid disappeared, he told them he would return with some refreshments. The door slid shut after he left. The younger Jedi smiled over the thought the Neimoidians probably believed they were locking the Jedi in the room. They failed to understand there was little that could hold a Jedi.

Alone now, the two Jedi pulled back their hoods as they waited for the protocol droid to return. With a moment to rest, the younger Jedi felt a nagging sensation coming through the Force. It was a feeling he had experienced several times since they left Coruscant. He couldn't explain the source of it, and it bothered him to no end.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, Qui-gon" the younger Jedi said.

"About this mission?" Qui-Gon Jinn replied.

"No, it's not that. It's something else, something elusive."

"Would it have anything to do with the fact this is your first mission as a full-fledged Jedi knight, Obi-wan?"

"No, I can assure you it is definitely not that." Obi-wan did his best to sound confident. "I don't feel any different than on all the other missions we undertook as Padawan and Master."

Qui-Gon smirked and nodded his head as Obi-Wan had broached a subject he had hoped he would be able to discuss with him. "I hope you are not disappointed that you are still accompanying me, despite being a Jedi Knight now. I know how anxious you are to go out on a mission alone."

"That can wait," Obi-wan replied. "I am glad to be on this mission with you. I know how important it is to get the Naboo queen escorted to the capital."

"Yes, it is, and I thought the Neimodians would be ready for us. I was expecting us to be taken right to another ship in the dock, one that would take us to the surface to meet-up with the queen."

"I was expecting that too," Obi-wan replied. "Do you think it means anything?"

"I'm not sure," Qui-gon said with a sigh. "I'm tempted to say yes, but it may just be that with the invasion and occupation, the Neimoidians are very disorganized."

"It was very out of character for them to carry out a campaign such as this," Obi-wan pointed out. "The species is normally very cautious."

"Yes, they are," Qui-gon agreed. "Recent events have shown that the abnormal is becoming the normal. For centuries, military conflicts were rare, but with the recent secessions, all that has changed. All the inter-system rivalries the Republic kept under wraps have flared up again. It seems every day brings word of a new conflict that has erupted."

"And every day also brings word of the Republic Senate unwilling to act to settle these conflicts," Obi-wan pointed out.

"A product of the Senate stripping itself of power to intervene in conflicts simply involving two systems," Qui-gon replied. "This conflict should have been different. While it is mostly an operation by the Neimodians, it is clear they would not have carried this out without the financial backing of the Muuns, who have also vowed to come to the aid of the Neimoidians militarily should anyone come to the aid of the Naboo."

"It is an alliance that is close to triggering laws in the Senate that should force the Republic to come to the aid of Naboo," Obi-wan said. "The law gives the Senate the duty to intervene in any multi-system wars. However, it appears this invasion is not quite technically there."

"Yes, it's clear Hego Damask is trying to push the Republic to act. He seems to want a large-scale war, as he has alliances with numerous other warlords to go to war against the Republic should any of them find themselves attacked by it. He is trying to trigger a war but doesn't want to be seen as the initiator."

"He never struck me as the kind of person worried about public opinion," Obi-wan said.

"I know, and that is why I get the sense something else is going on here." Qui-gon looked inquisitive as he spoke. He was speaking in a cryptic fashion again. It was something that Obi-wan had never quite gotten used to. He always wished the Jedi would be much more direct with what he was thinking and feeling.

"Is this something you felt in the Force?" Obi-wan asked.

"No, it's something I've assessed from trying to make sense of this invasion. I know the Neimoidians are thinking the queen will go to the Senate and sign away her planet, but I don't believe she will so easily acquiesce to their demands. I was here once twenty years ago, shortly after she was born. I got to know her parents well during that mission. They were very protective, and stubborn, especially concerning their daughter. They were just as devoted to their people as they were to their daughter. It is a trait you often don't see out of royals. The Neimoidians might be thinking the queen here will act like most royals and sign over anything for her own safety. This queen is not like that. She will look to fight, I can feel it. That is why I was surprised that the Neimoidians ever agreed to let us come here and escort her to Coruscant. If she reaches the capital, I think she will try and convince the Senate to invade and liberate her planet."

"Thus, triggering the large-scale war Hego Damask seems to want," Obi-wan pointed out. "It seems like the Neimoidians and the Muuns might be working at cross-purposes here."

"Yes, but I also get the feeling there is another power behind all these events." Qui-gon's cryptic words annoyed Obi-wan once again.

 **...**

The hooded, scowling face of Darth Plagueis hovered in the middle of the communication room. The two Neimoidians were frightened as they conversed with their Sith partner. Things were not going as the Sith had planned, and yet, when they informed him of this, it was he who had gotten angry at them.

"Why did you even let the Jedi on your ship?" he yelled at them.

"We didn't know what else to do," Nute Gunray pleaded. "We had an agreement to let them aboard, so that was what we did."

"You had told us the mission was going to be canceled," Lott Dodd said as he tried to remind the Sith of what they had previously been promised.

"Yes, I know," Darth Plagueis said dismissively. "My apprentice assured me that he would be able to get the Council to call back the Jedi. Not only did he fail me, but he couldn't bring himself to inform me of his failure. I will deal with him. Right now, I need the two of you to kill the Jedi."

The two Neimoidians expected the Sith to give them instructions on how to do that. Instead, the frightening image of Darth Plagueis disappeared as he ended the transmission. Apparently, they were going to have to come up with their own plan.

"How do we kill a Jedi?" Lott asked Nute, trembling as he spoke.

"How am I supposed to know," Nute replied with a shrug.

 **...**

When the protocol droid returned to the conference room with the promised refreshments, he found the two Jedi in the middle of a discussion about Naboo.

"I know you've been saying that you believe the Queen will resist the pressure to sign her planet over to the Federation," Obi-wan began. "You are basing that off what you know of her parents, when she may very well be nothing like them. She has gone through much in her life, and those events might have shaped her in ways neither one of us can truly understand. Her parents were assassinated by Gungan terrorists when she was eight. The mantle of leadership was thrust on her at a young age, even though most decisions were made by the appointed regents. She learned how to rule not from her obstinate parents, but from the cowardly and craven politicians that composed the ruling council. If she follows their lead, she will sign over her planet without a moment of hesitation."

"She will take after her parents, not the politicians," Qui-gon said. "People cannot escape who they were born as, and Queen Padme will be no different. I have followed how she takes after her parents in relation to her younger sister, Princess Soala. She has done her best to have her the girl raised off-planet. She has sent her to boarding schools and holidays on other systems in order to ensure she will not suffer the same fate their parents did. If she is like her parents in their protectiveness, she will be like her parents in other ways. She will fight for her planet just as they would have."

"In her sister's case, her protectiveness ended up not working. She was caught here for the invasion and is now imprisoned with her sister. I'm not sure she will be willing to fight for her planet when both her life and her sister's are on the line."

They took their drinks from the protocol droid. No longer needed, the droid turned to leave. The two Jedi both took large gulps from their drinks with no thought it might have been unsafe for them to do so.

Obi-wan picked up where he left off. "While I'm not sure if the queen is a fighter, she is quite remarkable. After her parent's assassination at the hands of a small number of Gungans, she could have easily held the entire populace responsible, but she refrained. Her treatment of the entire species has been rather remarkable, especially by colonists' standards. She even has a Gungan as head of her personal security. From what I heard, he was raised by humans on Naboo, but that is still a remarkable level of trust shown."

"And yet, her reward for such behavior was to have the entire Gungan populace join the Neimoidian forces in taking over her planet. The species always resented the humans for colonizing the surface and have finally taken their revenge."

"They might have gotten their revenge, but I wonder to what end helping the Neimoidians improves things for them," Obi-wan said. "The Neimodians are simply going to replace the humans, and probably end up extracting more resources from the planet and pushing the Gungans out of their homes."

Qui-gon didn't hear much of what Obi-wan said, as his attention was drawn to the protocol droid who was trying to leave. The door wasn't opening for him and he was throwing a hissy fit over its failure. The Jedi couldn't understand how the door could have broken in just a matter of seconds, it had opened fine for the droid to enter. Feeling something was wrong, he looked around the conference room, and that was when he noticed a bird in a cage, dead.

"Do you see that?" Obi-wan said as he pointed at the cage, noticing the same thing.

"Yes, they've released poison gas into the room."

"What should we do?"

"Take the opportunity to practice our hibernation techniques."

 **...**

A platoon of battle droids stood outside the door to the conference room. They had been given instructions to enter after the poison gas killed the Jedi, but none of them knew how long that was supposed to take.

"Surely, they must be dead by now," droid 1138 said.

"Are you sure?" droid 1977 asked.

"No, but let's open the door anyway." No one moved to stop 1138 as he walked to the controls and opened the door. The other droids braced themselves for an attack that never came. The Jedi were both seated at the table, slumped over in their chairs, dead. If the droids possessed emotions, they would have been greatly pleased.

The entire platoon tentatively entered the room and walked over to where the Jedi were sitting. "How do we know if they're really dead?" droid 1999 asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" 1138 replied. Droid 1983 decided to take the initiative his droid companions were unwilling to take. He walked up to the younger looking Jedi to try and confirm he was completely dead. He reached out to touch him, to see if he was breathing, when the Jedi suddenly came to life. In one swift movement, the Jedi pulled out his lightsaber, activated it, and sliced through the droid.

Across the table, his master came to life as well, leaping across the table to start slicing through the droids gathered around them. Together, the two Jedi were able to take out the entire platoon in a matter of seconds.

"What do we do now?" Obi-wan asked his master once all the droids were lying in pieces.

"We get out of here," Qui-gon replied. "Those droids have an automatic distress signal that would have activated immediately. Reinforcements should be on their way."

"They're already here," Obi-wan yelled. He was looking out the door and could see the droidekas rolling right toward them. The two Jedi ran out to meet them in combat and made it out the door just as the droideka's unfolded. The droids raised their shields as they started firing furiously at the two Jedi.

The Jedi were able to deflect all the blaster bolts with their lightsabers. While they were successfully defending themselves, neither one saw any options for taking the offense and destroying the droids.

"We're going to have to go around them," Obi-wan yelled.

"I agree," Qui-gon yelled back. He glanced over at the hallway on their right flank. "Follow me and run." With the wind of the Force behind them, the two Jedi took off running at super speed. They ran through the ship without stopping until they reached the hangar, where inactive battle droids were being loaded into the troop transports.

 **...**

"Where did they go?" Nute Gunray yelled to no one in particular. All the Neimodians in the bridge were watching the video feed from the droidekas. They were watching, expecting to see the death of the two Jedi, instead, they watched as they vanished.

Lott Dodd was not stunned and was able to give commands to all the battle droids in the ship. He dictated a command that was sent out to all the battle droids. THE JEDI HAVE ESCAPED. WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN. SEARCH THE ENTIRE SHIP FOR THEM.

 **...**

Qui-gon and Obi-wan crouched behind a crate, hidden, as they watched the battle droids being loaded into their transports. "We need to get on one of the transports and head to the surface," Qui-gon said. "We were given a mission that must be completed. We must make it to the surface, find the queen, and escape with her to Coruscant.

"So, you think we should stow away on one of those transports?" Obi-wan asked.

"Yes."

"But those transports could be headed to any place on the surface, and we need to go to the capital, Theed."

Qui-Gon closed his eyes as he entered a trance. Obi-wan had seen him do this countless times before. He was calling on the Force to tell them which transport, if any, were going to be landing close to the Naboo capital. While his master called on the Force often, Obi-wan had never copied it, despite being the man's Padawan for over a decade. Under master Yoda he had learned to rely on the Force, but not quite that much. He only called on it when his normal instincts and observations left him no other choice. In moments such as these, he would have preferred to find a way to hack in the computer system to learn the destination of the transports.

"That one over there," Qui-Gon said when he broke out of his trance. Obi-wan looked at the ship he was pointing to, it was the one they were closest to.

"How convenient," Obi-wan exclaimed. "It's the ship we just happened to end up closest to."

"The Force is with us," Qui-gon exclaimed. He gave his former Padawan a warm smile. One thing the younger Jedi found both endearing and infuriating about his master was the way he kept a sunny disposition no matter the situation. During their time together, his warm demeanor had done much to calm him during times of danger. There were some other moments, however, where his jovial nature made Obi-wan wonder if he understood the serious and dire nature of some of the predicaments they found themselves in. This was one such time. They were two lone Jedi in the middle of a planetary invasion force. Death could come from any corner at any moment. This was no time to be smiling.

"Follow me," Qui-Gon commanded. With a sigh, Obi-wan followed the elder Jedi and onto the ship of deactivated battle droids. While he wondered what they were going to face on the planet's surface, going down there was much preferable to staying on the ship. The planet's surface would contain many more places to hide as they figured out what their next step should be.

 **...**

Obi-wan followed Qui-gon through the swamp bordering the city of Theed. To Obi-wan's surprise, the Force had done it, it had led them to the proper transport. He felt safe on the surface of the planet now. They were headed for a city full of Neimodian forces, but at least they weren't trapped on all sides like they were on the ship. Their presence was unknown to the battle droids, and that gave them a fighting chance.

"Do you have any idea where we should be headed?" Obi-wan asked Qui-gon.

"If Theed is anything like any other capital city in the galaxy, there should be a couple military bases on the city's outskirts. They'll just be hangars full of spaceships, but the Neimodian forces will have occupied them all the same. We just need to make our way to a computer terminal to find out where they are holding the queen. Then once we find her, we just need to find a ship to get us off the planet and through the blockade."

Finding and rescuing the queen didn't sound so difficult, in their decade together, the two Jedi had gone up against large armies all by themselves numerous times. Getting off the planet and past the blockade, however, that was an entirely different story. Obi-wan never cared for space battles. His Jedi instincts and Force powers never seemed to do him as much good in a space ship as they did with a lightsaber in his hand.

"Relax my young Pada-" Qui-gon turned red with embarrassment over his slip-up. "Relax, partner. The Force has led us down here. That is a sign it wants us to find the queen and escape. It will see us through, I am sure of it. I can feel it."

Obi-wan didn't share his master's optimism, but he didn't have much choice. He knew they couldn't just abandon their mission. They were being hunted, and no one else was coming to save them. They either fought their way off the planet or died.

The sun was beginning to set. Instead of setting up camp for the night, they decided to circle the city, looking for a military base under the cover of darkness. They found one shortly after it turned dark. It was a base for the Naboo space force the droids had overrun. With all the Naboo forces defeated, the Neimoidians hadn't left too many battle droids behind. The ones that had been left there were not keeping up much of a patrol. They were just wondering around aimlessly. Still, the force was large enough to put up a good fight if the Jedi attacked. As the base was nothing more than a couple hangars dispersed around a large landing pad, the battle droids had a lot of open space to fire at the Jedi if they spotted them. Qui-gon and Obi-wan knew they were going to have to plan out their attack if it were to have any chance of succeeding.

"Any of those hangars should have a computer that we should be able to tap into," Qui-gon said. "The only thing is, we need to find a droid to do that for us."

The sound of a beep behind Obi-wan startled him greatly. When he heard it, his instincts immediately kicked in and in one motion he activated his lightsaber as he swung it around. When he got a glimpse of the blue-white astromech droid, he realized it posed no threat. With the aid of the Force, he was able to stop his swing a mere microsecond before the blade hit the droid. With the sizzling lightsaber being held just a millimeter from its body, the droid let out a horrified squeal.

"What is it?" Qui-gon asked as he turned his head around.

"Apparently, it's the droid we're looking for," Obi-wan replied as he deactivated his lightsaber.

"Can we be sure it's friendly?" Qui-gon asked.

Before answering, Obi-wan looked over to the battle droids, still milling around the military base. "If it was on their side, it would have radioed those droids by now and they would be heading over here to attack us."

Qui-gon looked at the battle droids to see what Obi-wan was saying was true. For his part, the astromech droid started beeping and shaking, trying to emphatically let them know he was on their side.

"I don't speak droid, but I think he is trying to tell us he's on our side." The droid calmed down and let out a beep of affirmation. Just then, Obi-wan noticed something on the droid's body. "He's got an insignia sticker on his body. Looks like he's part of the Naboo navy."

"He must be one of the droids from the base," Qui-gon said as he glanced over at it one more time. "When the invasion force came, he escaped and hid out here." Qui-gon stared down at the droid with a skeptical expression on his face. "I've never heard of a droid having that kind of devotion before. Droids only do what the nearest sentient tells them to do. They just run as programmed."

"He's brave, and bold," Obi-wan said with a smirk. "Just my kind of droid." The droid gave an affirmative beep that made Obi-wan smile.

"Now that we have the droid we need, we can carry out our attack." As Qui-gon spoke, he surveyed the battle droids milling around the base.

"Do you have a plan?" Obi-wan asked.

"I was thinking we could do exactly what we did on Ord Mantell, when we had to face all those assassin droids."

Obi-wan winced as that was not exactly a pleasant memory for him. "Okay, we can do that." He took several deep breaths as he pulled out his lightsaber. The assassin droids had almost killed him that day, and while these battle droids didn't seem as powerful, there were more of them. They had been fortunate on that day, as they were able to get him to a bacta tank right away. He knew they weren't going to have that luxury this time, and it scared him.

Qui-gon was picking up on the fear of his former Padawan, as it was something he had anticipated. "I was thinking we could change things up just a bit," he said as he looked at Obi-wan with a warm smile on his face. "This time, I'll be the bait."

"Thank you, Master." Obi-wan's initial feeling of relief quickly gave way to feelings of dread. If anything happened to Qui-gon, he was going to be completely on his own. The responsibility for getting the queen to Coruscant would fall on his shoulders, and he didn't think he could do it alone. He probably should have objected and told Qui-gon he would be the bait again, but he couldn't summon the courage to do so.

Obi-wan could feel the confidence in his master as he activated his lightsaber and walked out from the cover of the forest. "Hey! Over here." Along with the shouts, we waved his lightsaber around to try and get the attention of the battle droids. The droids looked at each other, confused by the sight of a Jedi trying to get their attention. They soon figured out it would be best if they took the opportunity to attack first.

The battle droids nearest Qui-gon started firing at him. All the other battle droids converged on his spot. As the droids ran to join the others, they started firing at the Jedi as well. Qui-gon moved his lightsaber furiously in order to deflect all the blaster bolts.

Obi-wan watched everything from his perch in the foliage. He was anxious to go out and help his master, as he didn't think he would be able to block all those shots much longer. When he looked around to see the droids were still dispersed around the base, his heart sank as he knew he was going to have to wait until they were all in one spot. Only then could he spring to attack. It killed him to have to watch Qui-gon with dread, wondering how much longer he could hold out. Back on Ord Mantell, he had been furious with Qui-gon for waiting so long to carry out his attack. Only now, did he truly understand why he had needed to wait. It would do neither of them any good for Obi-wan to attack when the droids were still dispersed. He suddenly felt bad for feeling the way he had. He now realized it must have been horrific for Qui-gon to watch his student suffering the attack he did, knowing he had to wait to save him.

Pleasantly, to Obi-wan's surprise, his master was having no trouble deflecting everything that came his way. He had always been especially adroit at channeling the Force, and it was keeping him alive right now. Finally, all the battle droids converged in one place. Taking a deep breath, Obi-wan knelt before he launched himself into the air, flipping around several times before he landed behind all the droids. They were all so focused on the Jedi in front of them, they never noticed the one landing behind them. Obi-wan made quick work of all the droids who had their back turned to him. In less than a minute, the whole thing was over.

"That worked well," Qui-gon said as he deactivated his lightsaber. "You did well, Obi-wan."

"Not as good as you did." There was a heaviness in his voice as he remembered what happened before. Qui-gon picked up on this and tried to give the young Jedi some reassurance.

"I know you are thinking about what happened before. You did a great job then. You faced a very difficult situation, and you came through. I know you thought you failed then, but nothing could be further from the truth. You actually showed yourself to be a powerful Jedi that day, one who I realized was destined to accomplish great things."

Obi-wan was filled with pride over the compliment paid to him. He wanted to take a moment to soak up the adulation, but the beeping astromech droid reminded him of the task at hand.

"Looks like we should go and find a terminal," Qui-gon said. He led the way to the nearest hangar, which had a computer terminal right inside the door. "See if you can find out where the queen is being held."

The two Jedi watched as the droid plugged into the terminal and went to work. The droid used the monitor on the terminal to write out what he found. Qui-gon looked at it and read the results.

"He says he is unable to find any information on where the queen is being held. They are being secretive."

"If we can't find her, what about someone close to her?" Obi-wan suggested. "Someone who might have been captured with her, and thus would know what the Neimoidians might have done with her."

"That's a good idea," Qui-gon said. "Did you get that?" he said to the droid.

The droid gave an affirmative beep as it attempted to find the information. After just a few seconds, it started squealing in glee. Qui-gon was joyous too as he read off the monitor.

"He said he found information on Lieutenant Tarsals and Captain Olie, the head of the queen's security forces and her personal pilot." He paused as he read off the next part of what that droid was saying. "They were holding them in a camp with several other prisoners, but now they are moving them. They're taking them to a rail station to get them out of the city."

"They must have figured out we are down here and realized we would might try and get in contact with them. Lucky for us, they didn't think to keep this information off the computer system."

"They're traveling not far from here." The image on the monitor changed to a map, showing the two Jedi the route the prisoners were going to be taking. "We can intercept them here." Qui-gon pointed at an area along the route where he figured they could wait to ambush the droid escort. "You can come along little droid." He patted the top of the droid as he spoke. "We might need you."

Qui-gon started to walk away, but saw the droid was writing something else out on the monitor. He chuckled after reading it. "He is telling us we don't have to simply call him droid. His designation is R2-D2, but he often likes to go by Artoo."

"Come on, Artoo," Qui-gon said to R2-D2. The droid followed the Jedi as they ran to the intercept point to try and save the queen's companions.

 **...**

The small party of three made their way through the streets of Theed. The streets were deserted as it was night and the Neimoidians had the citizens under curfew. As the Jedi walked, they saw numerous people looking at them through their windows. They had confidence they had the trust of the people and would not be betrayed.

When they reached the alleyway Qui-gon had selected for their ambush, they did their best to hide. With time to plan, the two Jedi surveyed the area, trying to determine the best way to carry out their attack.

"If we just jump out and attack, we run the risk of the prisoners being hit in the crossfire," Obi-wan pointed out.

"That's why we'll need a distraction to divert their attention away from us." Qui-gon looked at Artoo as he talked. "Perhaps our little droid could hide in the next alley up the street. Then jump out and start beeping in order to attract the attention of the droids. Once they are all turned in his direction, we can come out of hiding and destroy them."

Artoo beeped something neither Jedi could understand. They did understand he was willing to do his part when he rolled out and took his position in the alleyway up the street from them. Once they saw he was in place, they hugged the wall of their alley, standing with their backs pressed against it. For a short while, they had a moment of respite.

"So, what do we do if these two aren't able to tell us where the queen is being held?" Obi-wan asked his master.

"Simple, we tear this city apart looking for them." Obi-wan thought the man was joking, something he almost never did. When he looked at him, he saw he was once again trying to tune himself to the Force. He guessed he was trying to sense if the prisoners were coming.

"They're almost here," he said as he snapped out of his Force trance. Obi-wan kept his ears peeled. He could hear the metal feet of the droids hitting the stone pavement of the street as they walked. He started getting antsy as he heard the droids approaching. They seemed to be so close, that he figured Artoo should have made his move by now. He was beginning to fear the droid was not willing to play his part.

To his great relief, he heard Artoo beeping as he finally emerged from his hiding spot. "What do you want?" one of the battle droids asked the astromech.

"Now," Qui-gon ordered, keeping his voice low so the droids wouldn't hear. The two had been together long enough that Obi-wan reflexively obeyed his command. He hoped the Jedi had at least a hint it was okay for them to attack, although knowing Qui-gon, he was probably just guessing that everything was going to go according to plan.

Obi-wan followed Qui-gon out of the alley, and his spirits soared when he saw all the droids had their backs turned to him. The two wasted no time in igniting their lightsabers as they charged at the droids. As they did so, Obi-wan took a quick glance at the two prisoners, the human Ric Ollie and the Gungan Lieutenant Tarsals. He was expecting them to be overjoyed to see they were being rescued. Instead, their faces looked stolid, which he assumed they were doing to try and hide from the droids what they were seeing.

Obi-wan and Qui-gon sliced through the battle droids so quickly none of them had any time to react. It was over in a matter of seconds. Once it was over, the two Jedi deactivated their lightsabers as Qui-gon commanded everyone to hide in the nearby alley. Obi-wan noticed that Olllie and Tarsals gave each other looks of consternation as they followed the two Jedi.

"You must be the Jedi who came to escort the queen to Coruscant," Tarsals said to them.

"I'm surprised you knew we were coming," Qui-gon said.

"The droids told us they were moving us because they were afraid the two of you were going to find us," Tarsals replied.

"We had no idea what they were talking to us about, but when we asked them, they revealed everything," Ric Olie replied. "They have no filter, and will answer almost any question, even those coming from a prisoner."

"Did you manage to ask them where they are holding the queen?" Qui-gon asked with a smirk. "It would be nice if they would have just simply revealed that information."

"We didn't need to ask," Olie replied. "We were with the queen and the princess in the palace for the surrender. When the battle droids came to take us to the camp, they told us the girls would be held in the palace."

"If it is just the two royals at the palace, then there might be just a minimal guard there," Qui-gon pointed out. "If so, the four of us together stand a good chance of getting them out and to Coruscant."

There was a clear look of displeasure across the face of Ric Olie. "Tarsals and I know of a secret way into the palace. We can go in, get the girls ourselves, and get them off this planet. We don't need the two of you."

"May I ask why you are trying to toss us aside." Obi-wan was indignant with his words. He couldn't understand why they wouldn't want the help. "You don't exactly seem to be in a situation where you should be declining help."

"I didn't say we were necessarily declining your help." Olie gave them a sly smile as spoke. "If you want to go off and fight the battle droids and tie a bunch of them up to ease our escape, that would really help us out."

"We should be doing more than that." Obi-wan was getting angry now and raising his voice. "We were sent here to escort the queen to Coruscant, and despite everything that has happened, we intend to see that through."

"That is the problem we have," Tarsals told them. Obi-wan could tell the Gungan was trying to sound much more diplomatic then his partner. "Given the current circumstances, we do not think we should be taking the queen to Coruscant." The two Jedi were both incredulous over what they were hearing. "We are afraid the Federation has forces on Coruscant that would be gunning for her if we were to take her there."

"You don't have anything to worry about," Qui-gon pointed out. "There are more than enough Jedi in the capital to protect her."

"While Tarsals is worried about what will happen on the planet, I am fearful that we will never be able to land on it," Olie said. "The Federation probably has forces there that would blow us out of the sky."

"You're being paranoid!" Obi-wan yelled. Qui-gon gave him a look he had seen a million times in all their years together. He was not pleased with the way he was talking. Obi-wan continued, trying to sound more diplomatic. "It is unlikely the Federation will be able to do what you fear. I don't know if you have been to Coruscant before or not, but the traffic there is immense. They are not going to be able to pick out our ship before we land and blow it out of the sky."

"For your information, I have been to Coruscant before." Olie was not happy with Obi-wan patronizing him the way he was. "Recently, I might add, when security to get in was tight, just as it is now. I know every ship needs a pre-approved call sign, so they know exactly who is coming and going."

"And we have a call sign to give them." From Qui-gon's tone, Obi-wan knew he didn't understand what problem they were having.

"One that has likely been compromised," Ric Olie finally revealed. The two Jedi looked at each confused over what they had just heard.

"After we were captured, some of the Neimoidian commanders came to talk with us," Tarsals explained. "One of them accidentally said something we believe he did not intend to. He referred to something we revealed to Chancellor Valorum when we had a conference call with him and several Senators before the invasion. We believe that transmission had been intercepted and decrypted. We don't know how they deciphered our codes, but they either did that, or they had a spy on the other end."

"We have decided that we must act with the assumption that we have been compromised on everything," Olie pointed out. "And that includes any call signs you have. We don't know how deep this potential source of information goes."

"That is why we are going to rescue the royals and flee to a backwater world," Olie said. "One with no association with either the Republic or the Separatists. Once there, we will lay low, and try to find a way to smuggle the queen to Coruscant."

Obi-wan was incredulous while listening to the two. He was not going to hold back in letting them know exactly what he thought. "That is ridiculous," he began. "We can get her to Coruscant safely, as Qui-gon just explained a moment ago. The planet is full of Jedi and other security forces who can protect her. We have a flight clearance that comes from the Jedi Council itself, that was told to us personally, and was never transmitted. It was not compromised, I assure you." From the looks on the faces of the two of them, he could tell they were not believing him.

"It would have had to have been transmitted to the planetary security forces, so they would know what it is," Olie pointed out.

"Going to Coruscant is going to be much safer than picking a random backwater where you know of no one who can help you." Obi-wan had to control himself to refrain from screaming.

"And where no one knows us," Tarsals pointed out. "That will give us an advantage."

"The two of them are right," Qui-gon said. Obi-wan gave his master a piercing glare. He couldn't believe he was agreeing with them. Qui-gon returned Obi-wan's piercing gaze as he spoke. "They are the queen's closest associates. They have the best interest of her and the princess at heart. We will defer to them on this issue, and follow them, young Jedi."

Finished explaining himself to Obi-wan, Qui-gon turned his attention back to Tarsals and Olie. "I take it you didn't want us to come with you as you were afraid we would try and take command and convince the queen to go directly to Coruscant. I assure you, we will not do that. I pledge to follow your orders. Please, let us help you."

Tarsals and Olie looked at each other. With a nod of his head, Olie appeared to decide they would trust the Jedi's word. "Okay, you can come with us. We have prepared for a situation such as this. There is a secret entrance we can use to get into the palace. Once we rescue the royals, we can exit by the same secret passageway, then head to the panic ship we have prepared for just this circumstance."

"What exactly is a panic ship?" While Obi-wan could figure out what it was, he wanted to hear the details from them.

"It's a ship designed to allow the queen to escape this planet and live for as long as she needs away from it. It's everything, a command center, a military fighter, a mobile diplomatic center, and most important, a fast blockade runner."

"That's good, considering we are going to have to break one to get out of here." Obi-wan was skeptical the ship was as good as they were describing, but they had no choice but to try and take it.

"If there is nothing more to discuss, then we should be on our way," Qui-gon said. "They will be expecting you at the new camp, and when you don't show up, they will comb the city looking for you. It will be good for us to reach the palace before that occurs."

 **...**

When the small rescue party reached the vicinity of the palace, Tarsals and Olie led them to a house that was a couple blocks away from it. They entered the combination at the door, and it slid open for them. It appeared to be just a normal residential house. Tarsals and Olie excused themselves to go upstairs, where they had some weapons stashed.

Qui-gon was happy to have a moment alone with Obi-wan, as he wanted to have a private talk with him. "I don't have to sense your feelings with the Force to know you are not happy with this arrangement."

"I didn't see any need to hide it," Obi-wan countered. "Their plan for where to go after getting off this planet is reckless and dangerous. They intend to go someplace unknown instead of familiar."

"You have to remember, that for them, Coruscant is not a familiar place."

"That may be, but there are still allies to be found there."

"And also, enemies."

"We were given a mission by the Council," Obi-wan pointed out. "That mission was to escort the queen to Coruscant. We should be fighting to get her there."

"No, we should not." Qui-gon was adamant in his reply. "This is not about us. The queen has no obligation to follow the Council. We should be deferential to the desires of the Naboo and let them make the decisions they need to bring peace to their world."

Obi-wan would have liked to argue some points more, but Tarsals and Olie returned. They both were wearing vests loaded with weapons, overloaded in Obi-wan's opinion. He tried to hide his feelings, but it appeared Tarsals picked up on them. "The queen and the princess are probably going to need some weapons. We picked up extra for them."

"Can they handle them?" Obi-wan was skeptical.

"After the assassination of their parents, I personally trained the girls in use of any and all weapons. I can personally assure you, they can handle them."

"Good to know."

"Now that that's settled, let's go," Olie said. He and Tarsals led the way with the two Jedi falling in step behind them. Artoo rolled behind them all. The secret passageway was hidden behind a bookcase that swung open. After the five of them entered the passageway, they closed it behind them.

Obi-wan pulled out his lightsaber to illuminate the passageway. Feeling Qui-gon's hand on his arm, he refrained from lighting it as he knew his master wanted them to defer to Tarsals and Olie. A second later, Tarsals turned on a lantern and led them through the passageway.

It didn't take them long to reach the end of it. Olie crouched next to the door to open it and nodded to Tarsals as the Gungan crouched with his gun pointed at the door. He was ready to run through it and attack if the situation arose.

Obi-wan was using the Force to sense the area outside, and he could tell it was deserted. He knew Qui-gon was feeling the same thing, and he looked at his master to see if they should tell them that. From his facial expression, he knew his master wanted them to defer to Tarsals and Olie once again. Because there was no danger facing them, it didn't hurt in this instance, so Obi-wan was willing to follow Qui-gon's wishes. He made the decision then and there, that he was not going to defer to them again if he thought their lives were in danger.

"Hey Jedi." Obi-wan almost jumped in surprise over the fact that Olie was calling to them. It might not have been the most respectful way to address them, but he was happy they were talking to them. "Can you sense what is out there?"

Obi-wan almost smirked. He knew it pained Olie to have to ask them for assistance, and for at least a second, he couldn't help but gloat. "The area just outside is deserted."

Olie breathed a sigh of relief to know they were safe for at least a moment. When he opened the door, he was still cautious. He opened it slightly and peaked out before he opened it all the way. They filed into the hallway and looked around to make sure they were alone.

"I feel this place is lightly guarded," Qui-gon said to them. "At least, it is on the inside."

Obi-wan and Tarsals ran to the windows and looked outside. The outside courtyards were overflowing with Gungans and battle droids.

"It looks like they planned on us making a frontal assault to rescue the royals," Obi-wan said.

"And if most of their forces are out there-" Tarsals began.

"-then the palace should be clear," Obi-wan finished.

"While I don't have the ability to sense battle droids, I feel the presence of just two Gungans," Qui-gon said.

"Are they four stories directly above us?"

"Yes, that is what I feel."

"They are guarding the royal suite, and nothing more." Olie was overjoyed that their rescue was appearing to be much easier than they had suspected. "The Neimoidians scare easily, and when they suspected we were coming here, they freaked out and emptied out the palace to try and stop us outside."

"Let's just hope it takes them a little longer to realize their errors," Obi-wan said.

The small group followed Olie to the stairs that led to the fourth floor. Artoo needed help up the stairs, so the two Jedi just used the Force to float him up each flight. When they reached the top floor, Tarsals signaled for them to all be quiet. He looked around to make sure they were alone, then turned back to talk to them. "I'll go out and scout the floor, then report back."

Obi-wan was tense the entire time Tarsals was gone. He wished he had spoken up and insisted on being the scout. While he didn't know the layout like Tarsals did, he figured that his Jedi abilities would more than make up for that. He was deathly afraid Tarsals was going to make some error that would give them away.

Obi-wan thought he was the only one tense, but when Tarsals returned to the group, they all breathed a sigh of relief. "You were right," he said as he looked directly at Qui-gon. "There are just the two Gungans standing guard outside the suite. All we have to do is get rid of the two of them, and we can get the royals out."

"Shouldn't be much problem given there is just two," Olie began. "You and I each have a blaster, just shoot them, and that's it."

Obi-wan noticed Tarsals flinch and could tell he didn't like the plan. He wasn't sure if it was because he didn't like wanton killing in general, or because he just didn't want to kill two fellow members of his species like that. Obi-wan agreed that they shouldn't just shoot them. The Jedi order didn't approve of senseless killing, and he knew Qui-gon would not allow Olie to carry out his plan.

"While I have agreed to sit back and let the two of you take the lead, I can't do that here. We should not be senselessly killing the two Gungan guards like that. There must be another way."

"Have you thought of one?" Olie asked, challenging Qui-gon.

"Actually, I have," Qui-gon replied. "I think Tarsals here should pretend to be a guard that has come to relieve the other two Gungans. With everyone else in the palace heading outside so they can wait for us to come, he shouldn't have much trouble convincing the other two that he and he alone has come to relieve them."

While Obi-wan thought Tarsals would jump at any plan which kept them from having to kill the other Gungans, he was surprised to see him unenthusiastic about the plan. "Do you think you could do that?"

"I'm not sure," Tarsals replied sheepishly. "Not having been raised by the Gungans, I don't exactly talk like them."

The two Jedi were completely confused by what he meant. Obi-wan noticed that Olie was grinning from ear-to-ear, and wondered why.

"What are you worried about," Olie said. "Its-a not-a hard-a to-a talk-a like-a Gungan-a." When Olie did his imitation, he talked in an extremely annoying and child-like high pitched voice. Tarsals did not seem pleased at all with the imitation.

"Okay, I'll do it," Tarsals said, a hint of disgust in his voice. He led the way through the halls as the others silently fell in line behind him.

Obi-wan reached out with the Force to feel where the two Gungans were, thus he knew when they were almost right on top of them. When they reached the last turn in the hallway before the end of the suite, Tarsals stopped and crouched. The others copied him.

He motioned to the others to stay where they were as he stood. He took off his weapon vest and handed it to Captain Olie. Obi-wan could see Tarsal's mouth moving, as if he was rehearsing what he was going to say. After that, he shook himself to loosen himself up. When he finally stepped out, he did so with a much different gait then before. He walked with a limp body, swinging his arms wildly, like an over enthused child.

"Wha ah yoo doin heer." The voice of the Gungan guard speaking to Tarsals was incredibly high pitched. And the manner of speaking: Obi-wan found it incredible. He had thought that Olie had been exagerating, but his Gungan imitation appeared to be spot on.

"I'm-a, uh, here-a, to-a, uh, releeeeeeeve yoo, ah." Obi-wan winced at the difficulty Tarsals appeared to be having repeating the Gungan's speech pattern. For a moment, he was worried that Tarsals was going to be found out.

"Relieve-a us?" The voice of the second Gungan was distinct from the first.

"Ah, yes, ah. Our gen-e-ral wants the two-a yoo outside, ah. The-a Jedi might be-a comin."

"Okaya," one of the guards said.

Obi-wan connected to the Gungans and could feel they were walking right towards them. He was about to motion to the others to flee, when Tarsals spoke up.

"No. Uh, wrong way. Go-a that-a way."

"Okaya." Obi-wan could feel the Gungans obeying Tarsals with no hint of anything wrong. He waited until he could feel them reach the nearest staircase. With the coast now clear, he went ahead and stood. Qui-gon, Olie, and Artoo followed his lead as they emerged from their hiding spot.

When they came around the corner, Obi-wan was able to see Tarsals keying in the code to the door. He walked through it while it was still sliding open, and Obi-wan heard the squeal of a teen girl coming from inside.

"Tarsals! You came to rescue us!" Fear gripped Obi-wan as he was afraid the voice had been so loud that the Gungans might have heard it. He reached out with the Force and could feel they were still heading down the stairs.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Obi-wan walked inside the room to see a young teen embracing Tarsals with a tight bear hug. He could guess this was Princess Soala, and he was surprised to see she appeared younger than her age of sixteen. She was much shorter than the Gungan, and had her cheek pressed up against his chest. Her long black hair had fallen over her face, but despite that, Obi-wan could see the tears of joy streaming out of her closed eyes. He connected with her and was able to sense both her current emotional state, as well as the previous feelings she had which were still lingering. Just a moment ago, she had been terrified over what she thought the Neimoidians might do to her and her sister. They had not let them go to sleep, as they had wanted them to stay awake in case they had to move them. Soala had been scared they were going to be taken someplace to be killed. Now that Tarsals, Olie, and the Jedi had come, it was all over, and she was feeling joyous.

Soala was sniffling as the tears fell down her cheeks. Between the sound of the sniffles, Obi-wan could make out the sound of nervous breathing. He followed the sound to see Queen Padme Amidala sitting on the edge of the bed. Obi-wan found her remarkably beautiful: soft facial features and long blonde hair that was currently pulled back into a pigtail. The pigtail made her look young, sweet, and innocent. She looked like a young woman who should have been attending college, not leading her planet through a military invasion. The situation she found herself in showed in her facial expression and body language, which conveyed the heaviness and weariness she was experiencing.

For the moment, Padme was sitting with her head held high, trying to put on a brave face for everyone. The reality was she was feeling just as much fear as her sister. She realized the presence of a couple Jedi wasn't enough to erase the fact they were on a planet occupied by a hostile force.

The queen swallowed hard before she stood to greet her rescuers. "You must be the Jedi that have been sent to escort me to Coruscant," she said as she stood. She was so nervous; her legs almost gave out as she tried to stand. She righted herself before she bowed to the Jedi. Now that she was standing, Obi-wan could make out her outfit. It was a riding outfit the rich wore for their equestrian shows.

"I am Queen Padme Nabierre Amidala. I wish I was welcoming you to my planet under different circumstances." When she was done with her bow, she stood up straight and looked between Obi-wan and Qui-gon. "I am aware you were attacked on your ship, and I am unbelievably grateful you fought your way here to rescue me. I take it you came to complete your mission, so that I may make my way to Coruscant. It is vital that I reach the capital, so that I may speak to the Senate and try to win support to expel the Federation from my planet."

Obi-wan smirked over her choice of words. Qui-gon had been correct, she was more defiant than Obi-wan had expected. He figured the Neimoidians knew this and that was why they were willing to kill two Jedi in order to keep her from reaching the planet.

Qui-gon did not waste any time in reveling over being right as he stepped in front of Obi-wan to reply to the queen. "I appreciate the thanks, your highness, but my partner and I do not deserve all the credit for your rescue. We would not be here if not for the actions of Lieutenant Tarsals and Captain Olie. They led us to you. We are merely following their commands. And as part of that, I regret to inform you that we will not be heading directly to Coruscant once we escape this planet. Tarsals and Olie believe the Federation has spies that have compromised our communications. They are afraid they have gathered enough information to assassinate you should you travel directly to Coruscant."

"You don't want me to go to Coruscant?" The anger in the voice of the queen as she yelled at Olie was palpable. He looked sheepish as he stepped ahead of Qui-gon to try and explain his reasoning.

"While it is important for you to get to Coruscant promptly, you would not be doing your people any favors by dying before you can speak to the Senate. Tarsals and I believe the best way to get you there safely is to find a system outside the control of the both the Republic and the Separatists. Once there, we can hire a smuggler to get us into Coruscant, under the radar so that no one will even know you are there until you show up at the Senate. The decision is up to you, your highness. We will do whatever you command."

Through the Force, Obi-wan was reading the queen's emotions, and he could feel the indecisiveness in her. Qui-gon was noticing it too and offered a suggestion. "We do not have to decide where to go at right this moment," he pointed out. "We should concentrate on simply getting off the planet and through the blockade. Once we are safely away, we can decide where we want to go."

"That is a good idea, master Jedi." Padme seemed relieved she did not have to decide at just that moment. She turned her attention back to Captain Olie. "I take it you intend on escaping in the panic ship."

"Yes, your highness. When we picked up our weapons, I checked the surveillance we had around the ship. It was clear, as it has not been discovered. I also think our path there should be undisturbed. All the forces of the Federation in the city have congregated right outside this palace in anticipation of us attempting a frontal assault. We will be bypassing them through the secret tunnel. Then, we can head there directly."

"I hope you are right, but we should not be traveling with our guard down." As the queen spoke, she was looking at all the blasters Olie had hanging from his vest and belt.

"I know, that is why I brought a set of your favorite blasters." He took two and handed them to the queen. She went to her dresser and pulled out two holsters. Tying one around her thigh before connecting the other to her belt. Once she was done, she took out another two and threw them to Soala, who tied them around her thighs before loading them each with a blaster.

Once the girls had their weapons, the small party made their escape. The palace was still empty, and they made it back to the secret passageway without anyone spotting them. They traveled through the tunnel back to the safe house. Once there, they went to the computer to check all the surveillance sensors they could in the city. They were able to map the location of the Federation forces and plan a route to avoid them.

The panic ship was in a hangar that had been cut into a hillside. From the outside, it appeared to be just a normal hill. It was on the city's outskirts, meaning they would have to make a long trip through the capital to get there.

As it was still dark out, the city was still under curfew, and the streets were deserted. Having memorized the map, Obi-wan knew when they were getting close to the hill with the secret hangar. When they were just one block away, he let himself breathe a sigh of relief, as he figured they had at least made it safely to the ship.

The area of the city they were in was dense, with buildings extending all the way to the hill itself that housed the ship. The sun was beginning to rise, appearing just above the hilltops. The small party stayed crouched inside an alley as Tarsals took out a communicator and activated it. A pair of camouflaged hangar doors started opening. As they did, Obi-wan was able to get a good look at the hangar and the ship. The hangar itself was small, just large enough to hold the rather large ship. The ship looked impressive, long and sleek.

Once the hangar was all the way open, Olie peaked his head out of the alley and looked around. "The coast looks clear," he said.

"Let's go," the queen commanded. Everyone followed her orders and began to run towards the hangar. As soon as they stepped out, they were attacked. Droidekas rolled out from an alley to the north of them. Everyone stopped when they saw them, stunned that the Federation forces had known of the hangar and were waiting for them.

Qui-gon was the lone member of the group who did not freeze at the sight of the droids. He activated his lightsaber as he stepped forward, placing himself between the rest of the party and the droids. "We'll take care of this," he shouted. "Get to the ship."

When Obi-wan heard Qui-gon say "We'll take care of this," he knew he was talking about him. Having been the Jedi's Padawan for over a decade, his master's words roused him to action. He activated his lightsaber and stepped up to join Qui-gon as the others ran past him and into the hangar.

"Attack the droids the moment they stop," Qui-gon yelled to Obi-wan. Having seen them in action before, they now knew what to expect and how to counter the powerful droids. They needed to take the droids out before they could transform and activate their shields.

The two Jedi rushed forward the moment the droids stopped rolling. They each sliced two in half the moment they unfolded. In a mere second, the four droidekas were no more.

The two Jedi did not get a moment of rest as the droidekas were followed by an army of battle droids. Blaster fire rained down at the Jedi, who blocked everything with their sabers as they charged forward and started slicing the droids apart.

When they were finished with the droids, they saw their situation had become even more dire. As they were fighting the droids, two tanks emerged from hiding. Each tank had their guns pointed at one of the Jedi.

The Jedi knew they had just seconds to do something about the tanks before they fired. Obi-wan concentrated on the tank facing him and tried to use the Force to push it away. He succeeded in pushing it, but his push merely thrust it backwards. Its guns were still aimed at him, leaving him a sitting duck.

Qui-gon saw his former apprentice failing and concentrated on that tank as well. He used the Force to turn it, so its guns were pointed away from both of them. Concentrating on that tank left him unable to do anything about the tank pointing its guns at him. Qui-gon knew he stood no chance of surviving. He felt no fear over the knowledge he was going to die, as he was ready to go home and rejoin the Force.

"Run to the ship, Obi-wan!" Qui-gon shouted to his former apprentice. Obi-wan knew his master was going to sacrifice himself. He didn't want to leave him, but all his training had beat into him the mission was paramount. It was his task to get the queen to Coruscant safely, and he was going to have to leave his master to die in order to do it.

The tank fired its gun. Obi-wan was too frozen to move. He expected to see an exploding corpse, but to his astonishment, Qui-gon disappeared the moment the blaster bolts hit him. He had never heard of a Jedi disappearing in death like that. He had no time to contemplate how Qui-gon had accomplished the feat. He called his former master's lightsaber to him as he ran into the hangar. That was one thing he did not want to leave behind. The lightsaber caught up with him right as he reached the landing ramp of the ship.

"Take off!" he yelled once he was in the ship. Before he had even pressed the button to close the ramp, he could feel the ship floating up off the ground and surging forward.

Just as he had suspected, the ship was fast; way too fast for the tanks as they flew by them. He could hear the tanks fire at them, but they failed to hit the ship.

Unfamiliar with the layout, it took him a while to make it to the cockpit. When he reached it, he was able to see out the window that they were already at the edge of the planet's atmosphere. The blackness of space was taking over the view.

"Where's your master?" he heard Padme ask him. Her voice was authoritative and calm, but when he looked at her, he could see the fear in her eyes.

"He is dead," Obi-wan said bluntly. The queen did her best to keep her composure, but she trembled briefly, indicating she was shaken by the loss of the elder Jedi.

"There is nothing my master could do that I cannot," he said to her. What he said wasn't exactly true, but he felt circumstances called for a certain stretching of it. "It is my mission to get you to Coruscant, and I will do so, I promise you."

He didn't get a chance to say any more to the queen, as to his surprise, Olie was yelling to him and asking for information. "Jedi, would you be able to tell us what we're facing? What did the blockade look like when you arrived here?"

"There is a solid covering of capital ships around the planet," he said. "The good news is that from what my master and I saw, all the fighters have been stored away from the hangars. The Federation was concentrating on landing troops; thus the hangars were filled with transports and battle droids."

The ship exited the planet's atmosphere, allowing everyone in the cockpit to see the capital ships surrounding them. "Let's hope your right about those fighters," Olie said. As they approached the capital ships, they started taking fire from them, but no small fighters attacked. It began to appear the fighters would not be needed as the blasts of the capital ships rattled their ship. The shields held, but they wouldn't last forever. The entire cockpit grew tense as everyone knew they had no choice other than to fly straight ahead and hope the shields could sustain the damage.

"It looks like you were right about those fighters," Olie said. "The sensors aren't picking up anything other than the capital ships."

"How are the shields holding up?" the queen asked.

"Not as well as I was expecting," Olie answered truthfully. His reply was too much for Princess Soala, who burst into tears over the news. The queen embraced her sister and let her cry on her shoulder to comfort her. Despite that, she kept her attention on the situation at hand.

"How long until we can jump to hyperspace?" she asked.

"We will have to wait until we escape the planet's gravity well," Olie explained. "The Federation lined up their ships right at the edge of the line we need to reach. I'm calculating a micro-jump so we will be able to get away the moment we're past them."

Obi-wan was watching the monitors that showed the shield strength. They were depleting rapidly. With Qui-gon dead, it was on him to make sure they made it through alive. His master had given his life so they could escape, and he wanted to make sure he did not die in vain. He had an idea of what he could do, but he wasn't sure if he possessed the strength in the Force to do it. He glanced at the monitor once again and saw the shield probably wouldn't hold much longer. He knew he had to try something.

"You see that ship straight ahead?" he said to Olie.

"Yes."

"Fly directly at it once you see it start to move."

"What are you talking about?" Olie turned around to see Obi-wan leaning against the wall to brace himself. He had his hand stretched out as if he was trying to reach out and grab the ship. His eyes were closed, as he was concentrating hard.

Olie knew what the Jedi was trying to do. He had heard numerous stories about the power of the Jedi, but he hadn't quite heard about them being able to push around warships at will. From the way he was grunting, it was apparent he was exerting himself as much as he could, and yet, the warship wasn't budging.

Obi-wan let out a wail, and with that, the warship finally moved. Its front end shifted down and away from their ship. With its guns no longer pointed at them, Olie knew it was perfectly safe for them to fly directly at it, and that was what he did.

He heard and felt the Jedi collapse behind him. He could hear him convulsing and turned to see him shaking as if he was having a seizure. The Jedi's distress roused Soala, and she knelt down to take care of the man.

No longer needing to comfort her sister, Padme could give her full attention to the battle. "When are we jumping to hyperspace?" she yelled.

Captain Olie was watching the monitor, showing a diagram of the ship against the planet's gravity well. "We can jump in one second." The moment the monitor showed they were clear, he hit the lever to send them to hyperspace.

 **...**

The two Neimoidians trembled in their chairs as they waited for the holo of Darth Plagueis to appear. They were seated at a long table, with the head chair empty. After sending along a message that their captives had escaped, they had been expecting Plagueis to contact them with an angry message. They were both running through the excuses they were going to give him.

The holo image of the Sith appeared in the chair in front of them suddenly, causing them to nearly jump out of their own chairs.

Nute Gunray nervously started talking to the Sith lord. "Darth Plagueis, we are-"

"Silence," Plagueis commanded. The Neimoidian was more than happy to obey. "I am in no mood to discuss anything with you. I know you are probably glad you don't have to speak at all." The sound of his voice had risen to a fever pitch. "I have reviewed everything you have sent me about the escape of your captives. I paid attention to the trajectory of the escaping ship. They did not jump towards Coruscant. I do not think they are headed there at all. I believe the queen thinks she would be in danger if she tried to go directly to the capital. I would expect her to try and travel to an unaffiliated system, where she could then find transport to Coruscant so that she might arrive incognito. I have put together a list of the unaffiliated systems where I think she might be heading. I want you to send ships to all of them. Do your best to capture her alive."

He reached as if he was going to stop the message but refrained to say one more thing. "I was very pleased to learn you managed to kill at least one of the Jedi. That is impressive. I know your species is extremely fearful of them, and it seems you were able to overcome that to some extent. I feel that your dealings with the Jedi are not done, and they will be back. Be ready for them."


	2. Tatooine Rescue

When Obi-Wan finally came to, he could feel he was laying in the middle of an extremely plush bed. It had a smell indicating it was new. He had to work to remember how he ended up there. All the memories of what happened on Naboo came flooding back to him. He and Qui-Gon had come to the planet to escort Queen Amidala to Coruscant. After a failed attempt by the Neimoidians to kill them, they had to fight their way to the surface and search for the queen. They managed to free her personal pilot and head of security, and those two guided them to the royal palace through a secret passageway, allowing them to rescue the queen and her younger sister. The queen had a panic ship that would allow them to break through the blockade, but when they reached it, they found the forces of the droid army were waiting for them. In trying to hold them off, Qui-Gon ended up dead while Obi-Wan was able to board the ship and attempt an escape. Breaking the blockade was tough, their ship was almost blown out of the sky, but Obi-Wan was able to use the Force to push a warship out of the way, giving them an open spot to race through. The last thing he could remember was lying on the ground of the cockpit, his energy completely spent after using all the power he could in the Force to save them. Channeling all that energy caused him to lose consciousness, but it also attuned him to the Force in a way he never had before. Right before he passed out, he had felt the presence of the dark side. Remembering the feeling of the dark presence before the hyperspace jump, his fight or flight response activated, and he darted up in bed.

"It's okay, I'm here," Princess Soala said as she came running over to the bed.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"The middle of nowhere," Soala replied. "We completed a mini-jump and are now parked in space. My sister wanted me to tell you we will forever owe you a debt of gratitude for the heroism you displayed. When all this is over, she will reward you the Order of. . ."

"Jedi do not accept rewards or medals," Obi-Wan said as he rubbed his forehead. "Where are the others?"

"The others are looking through the ship and making repairs. We really took quite the beating. I was left here to tend to you, in case you required any assistance."

Soala sounded disappointed that she had been given the relatively simple task of just watching him. Obi-Wan noted it but didn't exactly have time to worry about her emotional state. He needed to tell the queen about the dark side presence he had felt, and the possible involvement of the Sith.

"I need to go and find the others." Obi-wan got out of bed without feeling the least bit woozy. When he made it to the door, he wondered if the princess would want to accompany him. "Do you want to come with me?" he asked.

"No, you go ahead. There's nothing I can do. Watching over you was all I can handle."

While Obi-Wan felt heartbroken to hear the girl sound so dejected, it was something he couldn't worry about. He took off, having to search around the ship to find anyone. The first person he came across was Padme, who was just the person he was looking for. She was sitting at a computer terminal in the ship's study.

"I hope you're doing okay," she said the second she saw him. Her voice was soft as she spoke.

"I had to exert myself a lot back there, but I am rested and recuperated now."

Padme smiled uneasily. "That is not quite what I meant. Losing your friend back there must have been traumatic."

"I am a Jedi, we are trained from birth to be ready for such situations, and to be able to overcome them. The mission at hand is always at the forefront of our minds. I do not have time to concern myself with the death of my former master. I have to get you to Coruscant. Now more than ever."

Padme flinched as she had not been aware Qui-Gon was his former master. The knowledge he had lost someone close to him in order to rescue her made her feel bad, and she acted flustered as she explained the situation to him.

"While you were out, Tarsals and Olie talked to me. They explained to me all the reasons they had for believing the Federation has assassins on Coruscant waiting for me. They didn't have to do much to convince me as I have been feeling a sense of dread over traveling there. That is why we need to take a detour first. Head to a planet on the outskirts of the galaxy, one where both the Republic and the Federation are completely unknown to anyone."

"With all due respect, your highness, I believe you are making a grave error. The Jedi can protect you on Coruscant. You need to understand the kind of power we have on the planet. Nothing will happen to you there. I can assure you of that. Going to the capital where we have the entire Jedi Order is much preferable to a sparsely populated planet where we don't know anyone. It is my mission to get you to Coruscant, and I intend to do just that." He paused for a moment as he reconsidered telling her about his revelation, but figured she needed to know everything. "Right before I passed out, I was in tune with the Force in ways I have never been before. I was able to feel the distinct touch of the dark side. I believe that somehow, the Sith are involved in all this. Now, more than ever, it is imperative we get you to Coruscant where you can be placed under the protection of the Jedi Council and all the Knights in the temple. We are the only ones who can keep you safe from the Sith."

Padme's nostrils were flaring as she was furious over the rebuke she received from the Jedi. "With all due respect, Jedi, pardon me if I do not have the faith in your Council and your Order that you believe I should have. You are asking me to have confidence in an Order that was unable to send the proper number of Jedi to my planet. If you were so insightful in the Force, or if you had any sense of what we are up against, you would have realized what would have happened to you. Your council failed by just sending the two of you. We were fortunate the life of your master was the only price to pay."

"The hands of the Council were tied, your highness. You have no idea the work it took just to get the Senate to approve sending the two of us."

"The fact you submit yourself to the control of such a disastrous legislative body is part of your failure."

"Despite that, the Jedi can protect you on Coruscant. You need to understand that."

"And how do I know that when we get to Coruscant your attempts to protect me will not run into the same problems you had on Naboo?"

"I was given an order by the Council-"

"I do not care about your Council. You have no authority here, Jedi. I have made the decision to take refuge on Tatooine. It is a planet controlled by the Hutts. There is no presence of either the Federation or the Republic on the planet. It will be perfect for us to hide out there as we consider our next move. Now, if you want to make yourself useful, find Tarsals and Olie and help them take stock of any damage we received."

As Obi-Wan walked out in a huff, he almost ran right into Artoo, who was bringing a glass of water for the queen. The droid let out a high-pitched squeal of displeasure.

"My apologies, Artoo. I didn't expect to find you on board. I am quite surprised to see you made it through everything. You really are quite the droid."

 **...**

The stars appeared as streaks of light through the window of the cockpit. Captain Olie hardly noticed them as he was concentrating on the counter that showed how long they had until they exited hyperspace.

"Coming out of hyperspace in 3. . .2. . ." he announced. Everyone was assembled in the cockpit. They wanted to be together the moment they arrived on Tatooine.

Upon exiting hyperspace, the first thing they all saw was the light of the system's twin suns reflecting off the surface of the planet. The light was blinding, and they all had to avert their eyes from the window or hold up a hand in front of their face to block the light.

Just as their eyes adjusted to the light, the sound of alarms filled the cockpit. Everyone was stunned, except for Ric Olie, who ran through the information the computer was giving him about what it had detected.

"There's two Federation dreadnoughts right behind us," he yelled to everyone.

"How did they find us?" Princess Soala yelled through tears.

"They must have deduced that instead of going to Coruscant, we were going to try and find an out of the way place to hide," Obi-Wan said.

The ship started shaking as it took hits from the dreadnought's turbolasers. They stopped after scoring a couple hits on the shields. Olie wondered why they stopped. He got his answer when he saw the fleet of robotic fighters flying past the cockpit before circling back around. The dreadnaughts had stopped firing to avoid hitting their own fighters.

"What can we do?" the queen said. She was remarkably calm as she spoke.

"Not much," Olie replied. He punched up a line of commands on the computer, and a holo-image of all the ships appeared. The Naboo blockade runner was being pursued by two rather large dreadnoughts. They were also surrounded by Federation fighters, who were flying in more of an escort position than an attack position.

The holo-image was showing every detail of the ships, including the shields which surrounded each one. The shields for the dreadnoughts were blue, indicating they were both at full strength. The shields of the Naboo cruiser, on the other hand, were yellow, indicating they were weak. They had done their best to repair them when they were stopped, but they hadn't returned them to full strength. Everyone knew they stood little chance of fighting back. It didn't appear there was any hope for outrunning them. They were sitting ducks.

"Can we jump to hyperspace?" Padme asked.

"No, we're already inside the planet's gravity well, and getting deeper into it with every passing second."

"Turn the ship around!" Soala yelled out in panic.

"I'd love to, but the dreadnoughts and the fighters have us surrounded. They're staying back for now, but if we were to make a move to escape, I know they will go into full attack mode to keep us from making it outside the planet's gravity."

When Olie mentioned the fighters were trying to keep them from altering their path, Obi-Wan instantly realized what they were trying to do. "They want us to stay on a straight path, so they can lock onto us."

"You think they're trying to grab us with a tractor beam?" Right after Olie finished asking his question, the ship lurched, causing everyone standing up to almost fall over.

"You were right, Jedi," Olie announced. "They've got us in a tractor beam. I'm shutting the engines down."

"Why don't you try to break free?" Soala yelled, more distraught then ever.

"Because there is no chance for us to break free from a tractor beam. All we can do now is prepare ourselves for when they come aboard. I propose we grab every gun from the arsenal and prepare to fight to the death.

"Jedi, can't you push away the dreadnought holding us?" Soala asked, frantic.

"That won't do anything to free us," Obi-wan explained. "We'll just move with the ship."

"It's clear we only have one hope then," Padme said. "Send out a call for help. See if there is anyone who would be willing to come to our rescue."

Tarsals grabbed the microphone and keyed in the commands to send out a distress message on all signals. "To all ships out there, we are caught in a tractor beam and could use assistance. Please come to our aid."

When Tarsals was done, Olie looked at his partner and shook his head, skeptical of what he was doing. "Expecting any help here is a pretty tall order. The only people around here are smugglers in cargo freighters. I know some of them have powerful weapons on them, but I don't think anyone is going to be anxious to join this futile fight."

With the Naboo cruiser now moving backward, the small, robotic fighters changed their positions. They started circling around the cruiser, making sure not to fly in the path of the tractor beam

"What are they doing?" Soala asked.

"Trying to send a message to anyone who might be thinking of coming to our aid," Olie explained. "They must have heard the message too and want to make sure anyone who tries to help us knows they will have to get past those fighters first."

Padme closed her eyes and made a silent plea. She knew she wasn't Force sensitive, but she was calling on it to send them a savior. They were desperate, and about to die. With her death, all hope for her people would die as well.

Padme opened her eyes just in time to see a fighter explode right in front of them. She was about to ask who did it when she saw the culprit. A small, manned fighter zoomed past the cockpit window. It flew too her fast for her to get a good look at it, but she knew it was the savior she had prayed for. She saw a light flashing on their control panel, indicating the pilot of the fighter was radioing them.

"Answer that!" Padme commanded. Tarsals did as she instructed, keying the message to come through the loudspeaker.

"This is Admiral Skywalker, Supreme commander of the Tatooine Space Force, the best fighting outfit in the Outer Rim. I heard your message and came to help you." Padme's heart leapt into her chest to hear her plea was answered not by a single fighter, but an entire space fleet.

Obi-Wan focused his attention on the holo-image of the battle, which now included an image for Skywalker's fighter. The computer created the best image it could of the bizarre looking fighter. The thing appeared to be built out of parts from various other fighters and freighters. No one was concerned about its structure, as they were only interested in what it was doing. For the moment, it was circling back around to go after the fighters, which were starting to disperse in order to confront this new entrant. "Where's the rest of the force?" Obi-wan screamed, wanting to make sure the microphone picked up his voice.

"I'm all there is," Skywalker replied. "But don't you worry. You are going to see that I am all you need."

While Padme should have been utterly dejected to learn there was no fleet, her hopes did not fade one bit. She couldn't explain why, but she had confidence in this Skywalker. She truly believed he was all they needed.

The others in the cockpit did not exactly share Padme's optimism. "Was I the only one thinking there was a whole fleet that was going to come to our rescue?" Olie asked.

"We may not have a fleet, but we have a farmboy suffering from delusions of grandeur. That is clearly the next best thing." The disdain Obi-Wan was feeling came through in his voice.

With their eyes on the holo-image, everyone was able to watch as Skywalker flew circles around the robot fighters, taking them out one-by-one. "Looks like the farmboy is living up to his delusions," Tarsals exclaimed.

"I don't know, it looks like he lost his shields." Now that Olie pointed it out, no one was able to remember if the fighter had ever been shown to have shields on the holo-image.

Captain Olie went ahead and tried to give the pilot a warning. "Admiral Skywalker, your shields aren't working. I repeat, your shields aren't working. You're a sitting duck without them, in case you didn't know." Obi-Wan had to bite his tongue as he believed they should not be feeding this man's delusions by calling him by the title of admiral.

"Don't worry, I didn't lose my shields. I never had any. I'll be fine, nothing is going to hit me."

Obi-Wan let out a groan, while Padme continued to pray. They were desperate, and because of that Padme was willing to believe this lone farmer piloting a makeshift fighter with no shields was the savior they needed. As the fight unfolded, he proved himself to be just that savior. The pilot destroyed one robotic fighter after another. It was some of the most impressive piloting Obi-Wan had ever seen. He was beginning to realize the pilot had not exactly been full of false bravado when he declared himself the best fighting force around. Obi-wan could feel what he was accomplishing was not due to pure piloting skill, the Force was strong with him, and was likely guiding his actions.

After losing half their fighters, the Federation commanders made the decision to recall them. They headed back to the safety of the dreadnought's cover. Everyone in the cockpit cheered over this minor victory, even though it was negligible. They were still in the grip of the tractor beam, and would not be free until they found a way to destroy the dreadnought reeling them in.

"Tell me which ship has a hold of you," Skywalker commanded. "Also, if you could give me any advice on how to destroy it, I would greatly appreciate it."

Obi-Wan was going to scream for the fighter to just leave, there was nothing it could do against a capital ship. Before he could say that, the queen chimed in with some advice for him.

"It's the ship to your left, and its vulnerable from the rear," she yelled. "All their power is directed at their forward shields; the rear ones are completely inactive."

"Those shields will activate the second you fly near them," Obi-Wan yelled.

"Then that gives me one second to fly under them before they're activated."

Obi-Wan grimaced and growled over the pilot's recklessness. He didn't know anything about the man, he didn't know if he had anyone back on the planet to go home to. If he did, he certainly wasn't doing them any favors by senselessly and futilely getting himself killed up here.

The Tatooine fighter flew straight at the dreadnought. The dreadnought itself paid it no attention, as it didn't see the lone, small fighter as a threat. The robotic fighters circling the dreadnought tried to engage the Tatooine fighter, but it flew in a corkscrew to avoid their lasers as it stayed on course.

Once again, the eyes of everyone in the Naboo cockpit were glued on the holo-image. They watched as the Tatooine fighter sped past the dreadnought. Once it had reached the rear thrusters of the ship, the fighter pulled out an impossible maneuver, spinning around and reversing its direction so it could fly under the shields of the dreadnought. It made it through a mere microsecond before the rear shield activated.

While everyone was in awe of what they had witnessed, Obi-Wan was especially stunned. He had felt a surge in the Force coming from the fighter when it made the tricky maneuver. It was a surge at an intensity he had rarely seen, and it was coming from a non-Jedi. It was unbelievable.

The Tatooine fighter flew over the dreadnought, unimpeded by any blaster shots or robotic fighters. It flew straight toward the control tower, which was capped by the ship's bridge. With a couple well placed shots, it destroyed the bridge. With no one controlling the ship, it started drifting aimlessly. The robotic fighters surrounding it started floating aimlessly as well, as nothing was controlling them either. Most importantly, with the bridge destroyed, the tractor beam was no longer holding the Naboo cruiser. Olie fired up the engines again.

"It looks like you're free," Skywalker radioed to the Naboo ship. The dreadnoughts shields dropped with the destruction of the bridge, allowing Skywalker to fly over to the other dreadnought. Having just witnessed what happened to its sister ship, the dreadnought turned all its attention to the fighter. It was attempting to knock it out with its big guns. The fighter engaged in some fancy flying, avoiding every blast from both the dreadnoughts and its droid escort.

"We need to fly away from the planet now that we can." Obi-Wan rushed to say. "Make it outside of the gravity well, then we can jump somewhere else."

The queen was silent as she considered the Jedi's request. While Obi-Wan was happy she did not immediately challenge him, he would have liked to hear her enthusiastically accept that they had to hurry and get away while they could. He was going to say something to further convince her, but Olie stepped in.

"The Jedi is right. We need to get out of here while we have the opening."

"How long do you think that fighter can hold out?" she asked.

"Probably not long, despite the piloting skills he's shown," Olie explained. "He has no shields. All it will take is one hit by those big guns and he'll be vaporized. I would love to turn this ship around and help him, but I don't know how much help we could give. We would be looking at a situation where both of us would end up destroyed." The weariness in his voice was evident. Obi-Wan was feeling it to. They knew they should be running away, but the queen likely was not going to let them leave the fighter pilot to face death.

Padme thought hard about what she wanted to do. She had an entire planet counting on her survival, but she knew she couldn't just leave that pilot to die. "Turn this ship around, we are going to fight alongside the fighter. He has shown enormous bravery in coming to our aid, and we owe him the same."

To the surprise of the queen, Olie offered no objection. Instead, he smiled as he seemed to be relishing the opportunity to fight instead of fleeing. The queen's decision had served to bring out the nascent fighter in him.

As they neared the fighter, Olie finally had the chance to fire the ship's forward batteries. He took out several of the droid fighters. With the larger Naboo ship back in the fight, the dreadnought turned all its attention to it. Its shields were still holding, but they wouldn't for long.

"We need to figure out a way to take out this ship." Olie spoke loud enough so he would be sure the radio would pick up his voice. "The other dreadnought has its rear deflector shield up," he said to the other pilot. "It doesn't look like you are going to be able to pull the same trick you did with the other one."

Undeterred, the Tatooine fighter flew straight for the dreadnought. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't those shields have to drop in order for the ship to fire."

"Yes, but they're timed to drop for just the exact microsecond needed for the laser blast to make its way through."

"One microsecond is all I need," the pilot replied.

"Don't try it, it's almost impossible," Obi-Wan screamed. "Even if you do make it through the shield, you'll never stop in time to avoiding colliding with the ship."

Given everything he had seen the pilot do, Obi-Wan should have stayed silent, and believed in the man. Almost in defiance of Obi-Wan's words, the pilot directed his ship at the dreadnought at full speed. He made it past the shield during the single microsecond it was down, and with the aid of the Force, stopped his ship dead in its tracks before it collided with the dreadnought. Obi-Wan felt him use the Force and marveled at the power he showed.

Flipping his ship up, he flew straight for the command tower and its vulnerable bridge. He destroyed it the same way he had destroyed the bridge on the other ship. After destroying the bridge, the Tatooine fighter flew past the thrusters, and then circled around to admire his handiwork.

Everyone in the cockpit of the Naboo ship had to admire what they had just seen the fighter accomplish. It had gone up against two capital ships and destroyed them both. If they had not witnessed it themselves, they would have never believed it.

"Now, we must jump to hyperspace," Obi-Wan interjected. "The Neimoidian Federation knows where we are. More ships will be coming."

All eyes were on Padme, waiting for her to tell them to leave. Everyone felt that was the only choice, but Padme felt differently. Going to Coruscant meant surrendering her planet to the Federation. Staying here meant they had time to find an alternative. There was likely no other place for them to flee, as the Federation had likely analyzed every place they could go and would have ships waiting for them.

As she weighed her options, she heavily considered traveling to Coruscant. For the moment, it seemed like the safest option. She couldn't bring herself to make that choice. She wanted to stay where they were and see what they could do to save her planet. The Force had delivered them a fighter to save them from the Federation ships. She thought she could feel it telling them to stay, that more help would be coming their way.

"We're going to the surface of the planet." While everyone seemed stunned by her decision, no one offered any objection to it. "We will be safe down there for the time being."

Reluctantly, Olie flew the ship around to head to the surface. The Tatooine fighter caught up with them quickly, flying right alongside them. With the fighter right beside them, they were able to get a good look at it for the first time. Just as the holo-image showed, it was not a fighter any of them recognized. Instead, it appeared to be built out of parts from several different ships.

"He fought in that thing," Soala commented. "He's braver than I thought."

The pilot in the cockpit was visible to them all now, but they couldn't make out much about him. He appeared to be immense in size, barely fitting in the cockpit. That might have just been an illusion of a small cockpit, though. He was wearing a flight suit and his head was completely covered by a black breathing mask. He was staring right back at them and gave them a salute.

Padme was worried their savior was going to fly away before they got a chance to thank him. "Tatooine pilot, we are new to this planet and could use some friends. Also, as you can see, we have some powerful forces hunting us. Would you be willing to show us an out of the way place to land our ship? We would also appreciate it if you would be willing to stay and offer us some help. I am rich and can offer more than you could imagine." Padme winced after speaking that last part, as she felt it sounded forced, odd, and insincere.

"I don't know about that one," the pilot replied. "I can imagine quite a lot. Still, I will take you up on your offer. Follow me to the surface. I'll circle around the spot I want you to land."

The Tatooine fighter sped in front of them. Olie followed it. As the Naboo ship flew over the surface, they marveled at the fact the only landscape they saw was desert. It was nothing but mounds of sand for as far as the eye could see. While flying, Olie brought up a map of the planet so he knew where they were going. Just as Padme had requested, the fighter seemed to be leading them to a deserted area of the planet. There was a town, Anchorhead, not too far away. The only large city nearby was Mos Eisley, which looked to be quite a distance from them.

When they reached the spot where the fighter wanted them to land, the pilot flew so low to the ground that it kicked up the sand over the area it flew, creating a perfect circle to serve as a landing spot for Olie. He stopped the ship in the direct middle of the circle before letting it descend to the ground.

The Tatooine fighter landed a short distance away from the Naboo ship, but directly in front of it. They could see the pilot working at the controls furiously after he landed.

"What is he doing?" Soala asked.

"I think with his ship being a hybrid of so many others, it takes him forever to shut down everything," Olie said.

"We should go out and greet him," Padme seemed antsy with excitement as she gave her commands.

"Perhaps Olie and I should greet him," Tarsals said. "We could escort him on board the ship for you to thank him."

"No, I should be the first one to thank him. I am the queen, and these kinds of things are my job." The others could tell she was swelling with admiration for their savior. She was anxious and excited to meet the pilot that had shown so much skill in saving them. She led the way, and the others fell in line behind her.

Padme had the small party stop halfway between their ship and the Tatooine fighter. It took a minute, but the engines finally came to a complete stop. Once everything was shut down, he pushed open the cockpit and jumped out to the ground. Everyone was taken aback by how massively tall he was, he had to be at least six and a half feet. His flight suit barely fit him. It clung to his body, with his thick muscles looking like they were trying to bust out and escape the confinement of the tight suit.

As the pilot walked towards them, Obi-Wan could see the queen trembling with excitement. He probed her with the Force and shook his head over what he picked up. The last thing they needed was a giddy, lovestruck woman making all the decisions for them.

Everyone expected him to take off his breathing mask as he approached them, but to their surprise, he kept it on. When he was just a few feet away from them, Padme bowed to him. Obi-Wan didn't know the exact protocols of Naboo, but he knew royals normally did not bow to anyone.

"I am Queen Padme Naberre Amidala of Naboo, and I am pleased to greet you and thank you for saving us." Obi-Wan, along with everyone else, flinched over the fact she gave him her full name. They were trying to stay hidden, and this was not helping in the least. Obi-Wan could feel the sense of trust the queen had in the pilot. Not wanting to rely on her naivete, he connected to the pilot and tried to read him.

Given what had happened during the space fight, Obi-Wan expected to feel the man's power in the Force, but there was nothing. He sensed no more Force sensitivity than anyone else. It was remarkable how much it had just disappeared. Once Obi-Wan overcame that surprise, he was able to read his feelings. The man was swelling with pride, but also riled with nervousness. Obi-Wan felt no hint of ill malice. Instead, there were feelings of lust for the queen coursing through him. The Jedi broke the connection when he realized he had sensed enough.

The pilot felt obligated to reciprocate the queen's formality. He kept his legs perfectly straight as he bowed back to her. When his bow was over, he returned the thanks. "It was my pleasure to be able to come to your rescue."

Everyone was taken aback by his voice. With the breathing mask on, it sounded mechanical, almost inhuman. The deepness was unnatural.

"Do you need that to breathe all the time?" Padme asked.

"Oh, the helmet," the pilot replied. He removed the breathing apparatus to reveal a handsome face that looked like it had been chiseled from stone. His skin looked worn, but not aged. The black color of his hair was hard to make out as he had shaved it incredibly short. In the spots where the sun hit it directly, he appeared bald.

"I wasn't able to put in life support systems for the cockpit, so I can only breath through this," he explained as he held up the helmet. "I've gotten so accustomed to it, I often forget I'm wearing it."

As he looked from his helmet to Padme, his eyes met hers, and the two of them felt an instant connection with each other. The connection was through the Force, something the two of them just barely understood. They were able to feel the other's emotions as well as read the other's thoughts. The connection startled them, and they instinctively looked away from each other. Breaking eye contact broke the connection. When they two of them looked at each other again, they made sure not to look the other in the eye, as they wanted to avoid connecting once again.

"It was very brave of you to come to our rescue like that," Padme said when she regained her composure. "The people of Naboo will forever owe a debt to-" Padme was going to repeat his name, but couldn't remember it. "I'm sorry, but I can't remember what your name was."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," the pilot began. "With all the excitement back there, I'm not sure if I even gave it to you." The man told a little white lie to make the queen feel better. "I am Anakin Skywalker. No one owes me a debt for rescuing you. I spent years constructing that fighter, and I was just happy for it to finally see the kind of action I had built it for. It was quite fortuitous, that the very first time I took it out was the moment you needed someone to come your rescue."

Everyone was stunned by what Anakin had just told them. "That was the first time you flew it? That was the first fight you were ever in?" Olie said, incredulous. "With that kind of flying, I would have assumed you were a hardened veteran of numerous wars. Where did you ever learn to fly like that?"

Anakin seemed embarrassed as he looked at the ground and shook his head. "I get asked that kind of question about a great many things, and I never know how to answer it. From the moment I was a child, I have had abilities that others have always marveled at. Skills that take others years to learn come naturally to me. I have never been able to explain it."

"It's the Force," Obi-Wan said as he looked at Anakin. When Anakin looked over to him their eyes met, and Obi-Wan could feel the piercing stare he was receiving.

"You're a Jedi, aren't you?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan.

"Yes, I am, and I have to say, when you were fighting out there, I could feel the Force aiding you, but I don't feel it now." As Obi-Wan spoke, he walked closer to Anakin, looking up at the hulk of man. "During the battle, I felt you using the Force. Did you realize you were using it?"

"I could feel something coursing through me at the time. It was a sensation I've felt before. I always assumed I was channeling the Force before, but I never had anyone to confirm it for me."

"Well, you do now," Obi-wan said. "Tell me, when you had these sensations before, did you feel under duress, scared, frightened at all?"

"As a matter of fact, I did."

"Just as I suspected." While Obi-Wan was trying to act stolid, he was feeling a decided mix of emotions. He was ecstatic to come across someone who had such innate ability in the Force. He was concerned, though, that it came about from moments of fear. In those moments, he had been calling on the dark side of the Force. It made sense, since that was easier. "You're able to call on the Force, but only reflexively. When you are in danger, you can channel it, but when you're calm, it abandons you."

"What does that mean?" Anakin was thoroughly confused.

"It means you have a natural ability to call on the Force I have never seen or even heard of. The Force is strong with you, and if you could be trained to truly harness it-"

Obi-Wan had to stop and shut himself up as he knew he was getting carried away. It was not his place to decide to train anyone in the use of the Force. The power to train Jedi rested solely in the Jedi Council, who set up rules and protocols for it. The primary rule was that only young children could be trained. Becoming a Jedi was a lifelong commitment, which required being raised in the ways of the order. Anakin was far too old to be trained, which was a real shame.

"I think the two of you can talk about Jedi business later." Padme had walked up between the two to end the conversation. Obi-wan was glad she was saving him from getting carried away. "Anakin, as you can see from the attack we just suffered, we are in great danger and are likely being hunted. My planet, Naboo, was invaded and conquered by the Neimoidian Federation. We managed to escape so we could make our way to Coruscant to seek help from the Republic. We didn't want to head directly there, as we were afraid we would be attacked when we got there."

"Coming here didn't exactly save you from that fate, you know." Anakin smirked as he made his smart-aleck comment.

"Yes, I realize that, but we are safe now at least. And what happened here just shows that having to go to Coruscant and announcing ourselves when we arrive would be even worse. We came here to find a ship that can transport us to Coruscant under the radar. Do you know anyone who could do that?"

From the look on Anakin's face, everyone could tell he thought she was asking the impossible. "The only people here who could do something like that for you are the Hutts."

"That was what we figured," Padme replied.

"They drive a real hard bargain," Anakin said uneasily. "They don't do anything on the cheap."

"I have prepared for all contingencies and have access to numerous off-planet accounts. Money is no problem."

Anakin had to suppress a laugh. "This is a planet full of smugglers. Unofficial businesses don't exactly deal with official currencies."

"But there are local currencies, I take it?"

"Yes, there are, but no one is going to exchange official currency for the local. Now, you could get some if you have things of value to sell, but it is going to take a lot."

Padme looked uneasy, but she knew they had to find a way to get money. "Our ship is full of goods. It was designed to carry everything we might need in the event of an escape and a temporary life in exile. There is more than enough to sell. Would you mind looking around, and seeing if there is anything that would be considered valuable here?"

"I would be delighted to," Anakin replied.

 **...**

Anakin walked up and down Padme's closet several times. With each pass, he stared at the dresses on the racks as well as the luggage resting on the floors. He was doing his best to try and hide his feelings but failing as the queen was able to tell he found something humorous.

"Would you mind telling me what's so funny?" The annoyance in Padme's voice was palpable.

"I just can't believe what these outfits are like." As he talked, he held out one of the larger dresses. "I mean, look at this one. This one outfit probably contains more material then every piece of clothing I own."

"In case you've forgotten, I am the queen of a planet," Padme kept her voice calm and her facial expression pleasant as she responded to Anakin's annoying teasing. "Being a royal comes with certain expectations about how I am supposed to act and how I am supposed to dress. There are situations and functions that require me to dress with the upmost of elegance."

The expression of humor on Anakin's face did not lessen one iota. "I thought this was supposed to be your escape ship; the ship that should have been packed only with items that you need to survive. And yet, what do you pack? A closet full of fancy dresses and royal matched luggage."

Anakin's joke got a laugh out of Soala. Padme, on the other hand, felt nothing but indignation at the man. "For your information, this ship wasn't necessarily stocked only with things I need to survive. It was stocked with items I need to fulfill my role as queen of my people. I knew that even in exile, I might need to dress regal in attendance of government functions and other matters. If I were to speak before the Senate, I would have to dress the part. Protocol demands such things."

"Good to know," Anakin said as he pursed his lips. He went back to looking over the clothes, even though it was apparent he wasn't really taking in anything.

"I believe I brought you in here, so you could tell us if any of these outfits would fetch us any money if we sold them."

"Oh, so now you can sell them. I thought you just said you needed them. How are you going to plead your case in the Senate if you aren't dressed properly?"

"I don't understand why you are making this so difficult." Padme finally lost the ability to keep her emotions in check. There was anger in her voice, and she clenched her fist and gesticulated with it as she talked. "I'm not looking to sell everything, just whatever might be enough to get us the money we need. Can you just tell me how much you think some of these dresses might be worth?"

"On this planet, they're all worth nothing." Initially, Padme was furious that Anakin would be playing around with them and lying like this. As she listened to his explanation, she was forced to accept that her elegant dresses, made by the best fashion designers in the galaxy, were worth nothing outside her narrow, elite world. "We don't have fancy events to dress up for on this planet. The people here, they just work, or hang out in low class bars. No one is going to buy these things expecting to ever wear them."

Padme let out a sigh as she lowered her head. If they couldn't raise any local currency, they were going to have to find something else to offer the Hutts. A thought occurred to her, one that wasn't exactly ideal, but she didn't think they had much choice.

"Do you think the Hutts would make a deal in favors?" she asked Anakin. From the expression she saw on his face, he was initially confused by what she was asking. It didn't take long for the expression to change, as it dawned on him what she was getting at.

"They might, what do you have in mind?"

"Going to the head Hutt here, and revealing who I am. I would them tell him that I have a certain amount of influence with the Republic government, and that I can grease some wheels for him."

"Dealing in favors is certainly a much better currency when dealing with the Hutts," Anakin said. "The problem with your proposal, is smuggling is all about working around government officials. They are already adept at that, and don't need any favors. I know you might be thinking you could help convince some department somewhere to look the other way on something involving their business, but they already have all the government officials they need in their pocket. They are not going to make any deal there."

As Anakin finished talking, Padme noticed he was no longer looking at her, but rather at someone over her shoulder. She turned around to see Obi-Wan standing in the doorway, a stern expression on his face.

"Did I just hear you say you were planning on revealing yourself to the Hutts?" Given what he had just overheard, Obi-Wan knew he was correct in breaking the promise Qui-Gon had made. The queen was out of her depth here, and he knew Tarsals and Olie would never correct her, they would never challenger her authority. It was up to him to make sure her naivety didn't get them all killed.

"Revealing yourself is a horrid idea. Once the Federation arrives, the Hutts will hurry to make a deal with them, if they were to find you."

"It is the only chance we have to obtain that which we seek. If we move quickly, we can make a deal with them before the Federation returns." Padme was doing her best to sound as stern as she could in her reply. She understood the challenge to her authority he was attempting. "According to Anakin, nothing we have here is worth any value on this planet. There is no way to raise the funds we need."

"What about games of chance, or card games?" Obi-wan asked. "Would we be able to raise the money we need from one of them?"

Anakin smirked as he was very skeptical of the Jedi's idea. "You could raise a lot of money through a local card game that's very popular here, but it would take an impressive amount of skill at it. Skill I doubt you have, since you've probably never played it before."

"As a Jedi, I am able to easily pick up skills. It's no different from what you were describing to us earlier about your special abilities. When I am playing the game, I will have my Jedi skills at my disposal. I don't think it will be hard for me to win the money we need. Then we can buy safe passage to Coruscant without anyone learning who we are."

Obi-Wan's words did not appear to convince Anakin of anything. "Even assuming you can learn the game like you say, you are never going to be able to enter a high stakes game without the money for the buy-in. I have not seen anything here you would be able to sell for even that kind of money. That is, unless there are at least a couple items you have failed to show me."

"What are you talking about?" Padme was doing her best to play dumb but failing at it.

"I have just been thinking that this is supposed to be your escape ship. You knew you would be fleeing during a time of great danger, and yet, from what you have shown me, you didn't bring any weapons at all." He looked around as he shrugged. "Now that is one thing that would be worth some money around here. Enough to afford the buy-in for the high stakes game your Jedi is talking about."

From the look on Padme's face, Anakin could tell he had hit upon the truth. Obi-Wan noticed it as well and was disappointed they had hid things from him. It was her idea to bring him aboard to appraise everything, and then she hid the weapons from him. It didn't make sense and was another sign that she couldn't be trusted to make the decisions, he would have to take charge.

"You are right to assume there is an arsenal on board," Padme admitted. "I didn't quite trust you enough to let you know about it. I apologize for that. I also know that Tarsals and Olie are not going to want to part with any of it, but now, it looks like our only choice. I will find Tarsals and tell him what we are going to do."

She walked past Obi-wan, with her sister following her out. She didn't have to travel far as Tarsals had come looking for her. They did their best to talk in low voices, but both Obi-wan and Anakin could hear the two arguing. The argument didn't last long, as Tarsals was obligated to obey his queen.

When Padme walked back in, she looked uneasy. Obi-wan saw it as a sign the entire situation was getting to her, and he wondered how much longer she would be able to hold up. "We are going to sell the arsenal, so the Jedi here can buy his way into the game you suggested. Anakin, would you be willing to teach him how to play it?"

"Of course, I would. I've got a deck of cards for it back at my home. I could run there and come back with it to teach him. It's a game that involves a lot of players, so I might need the rest of you to get involved. It would help, though, if I had another person to help me teach you. I have a brother I could bring along to help out."

Padme made a face that indicated she had other ideas. "Given our situation, I was wondering if we could travel to your home. Since we are trying to lay low, we can't exactly fly this ship into town to sell the weapons. When we stocked it, we forgot about loading a mode of transportation in case we landed anywhere. It would be good for us if you had a way to transport us to your home. We could store the arsenal there until the morning, and you and your brother could teach us to play that game." She paused, as she considered if she should add something. Her sense of obligation compelled her to continue. "I am not sure if you understand the situation, but the Federation will likely return to this planet to look for us. You would potentially be putting yourself in great danger by housing us."

"Think nothing of it," Anakin did not hesitate to reply. Padme was instantly relieved. "You will definitely be much safer staying with us as opposed to the ship they saw you fly in here. I don't think we have much to worry about. They can try all they want, but they are never going to find you down here. This planet is full of people hiding from something. They never manage to be found, and neither will you."

"Thank you. Once again, you are proving yourself our savior. When all this is over, I assure you, you will be rewarded with a medal, and maybe more."

Anakin turned red with embarrassment over the praise. "I can radio Owen, my brother, and have him come out in our speeder. He can carry three passengers. We can load the arsenal on the back." Anakin ran over in his mind just how many people they had to transport. "There's still two people left." He stared hard at Obi-Wan as he thought of something. "If I fly my fighter at a slow enough speed, it won't be too hard for anyone to just simply hang on. The flight to my home is a short one. It shouldn't be hard for two of you to hang on." Anakin stared even harder at Obi-Wan. "With your Jedi abilities, it should be especially simple."

"Yes, it will be. I've fought numerous battles in which I had to hang on to a ship for dear life. You won't have to worry about me. The other passenger, on the other hand, might have a problem."

"Who else is going to have to hang on to my ship? I take it the queen and the princess will ride in the speeder with my brother. That leaves just Tarsals and Captain Olie."

"Tarsals is the head of the royals' security, and will likely want to ride with them, leaving Olie to hang on with me. It is fitting, since he is the pilot of the group."

"Okay, that's everyone then," Anakin said. The loud and angry beeping that came from just outside the room reminded them they had not quite accounted for everyone.

"Don't worry, Artoo," Padme yelled out. "We won't leave you behind."

"There should be room on the back of the landspeeder to load him, as long as he doesn't mind being tied down." Artoo heard everything and gave an affirmative beep to indicate he approved. "I'll go out to my ship and radio my brother, and get it started as well."

With nothing to do inside the ship, Obi-Wan exited a minute after Anakin had walked out. Out in the blinding sun, he watched as Anakin climbed back into his ship and started up the engines. They let out a low sound as they began to warm up. Inside the cockpit, he could see Anakin talking, indicating he had called his brother.

By the time Anakin had finished with his call, the engines were still in the middle of warming up. Obi-Wan shook his head as he marveled at how long the engines needed to start. They had been extremely fortunate that Anakin was out flying his ship just as they were under attack. Most people would see it as a simple coincidence, but Obi-Wan knew there were no such thing as coincidences, especially with someone who was as strong in the Force as Anakin. Obi-Wan knew it was the Force that had maneuvered Anakin to be there to save them.

"So, did Anakin say how long it would take his brother to get here?" Olie asked as he walked up behind Obi-Wan.

"I don't think they live far," he replied. He looked back at the pilot and noticed the man did not look pleased.

"Thanks for volunteering me to travel clasped to the wing of the guy's fighter." The sarcasm in Olie's voice was clear.

"I think it's coming," Soala shouted. Everyone looked in the same direction she was. While no one could see a vehicle, they were able to see a storm of sand being kicked up from the ground.

The speeder became visible as it started to slow down and kicked up less dust and sand. When it was just a short distance away, it made a wide turn that presented its passenger side to them. It slowed to a stop right in front of them.

The driver of the speeder was covered from head to toe. His face was completely wrapped, and his eyes were covered with goggles. He took off both those items quickly, allowing them to see his face. Everyone noticed how scruffy and gruff he appeared. He looked unshaven, but his whiskers were only long enough to count as stubble, it wasn't quite a full beard. His hair was unkempt, but they didn't know if that was due to the covering, or if he always wore it that way. From the look of him, he appeared to be older than Anakin. There also didn't appear to be much family resemblance between the two. It appeared odd, but no one put much thought into it.

"This is my step-brother, Owen Lars," Anakin said in introduction. Several people nodded their heads as they came to understand why there didn't appear to be much resemblance between the two.

Owen said hello to everyone as he stepped out of the speeder. He did so with difficulty and needing to grunt. While he appeared to possess a good deal of strength, it seemed he was worn down. While his face looked young, he carried himself like an old man who had been through hell and been scarred by it.

Since everyone was lined up, Anakin introduced them, one at a time. Owen stepped up to shake the hand of each of them. When he got to Obi-Wan, he finally made a point of the fact he hadn't gotten his name.

"Despite all the things I said to you, I don't think I ever got your name."

"That is because I never gave it. I know living out here, you are probably not familiar with the Jedi in ways someone who lives in the Republic would be. The Jedi Order practices anonymity as much as it can. To the public, we are all just Jedi, each one indistinguishable from another. We do not seek to have our names celebrated or etched in history."

"I thought the members of the Council were known by their names?" Anakin said.

Obi-wan was taken aback by the fact Anakin had some knowledge about them. He ended up stammering as he answered. "Yes, the members of the Jedi Council are an exception to that rule. Since they meet with so many politicians and dignitaries, it is imperative that people know them by their names."

Having talked enough with Obi-Wan, Anakin continued down the line. Padme was last, and when the two brothers got to her, she felt obligated to make sure Owen understood the nature of the situation.

"I am glad to hear that you are willing to house us for at least one night during our stay here. I don't know if Anakin-"

"Yes, he explained everything to me." The weariness seemed to leave Owen for a moment as he smiled broadly at Padme. "You are welcome to stay as long as you need with us. My wife and I are willing to accept any risk in order to help you out."

Initially, Padme had been relieved to hear that Owen knew everything about their situation and was fully on board. When she heard about his wife, though, she was hit with a sense of fear. Anakin hadn't mentioned anything about a wife for Owen, and now Padme was wondering if the two had any children. She didn't want to feel responsible for putting any children in harm's way.

The Naboo group had already taken out of the ship everything they needed, including the arsenal. They got everything on the speeder, including Artoo, who was none too pleased with the way he was tied down. Despite his incessant beeping, no one cared enough to try and situate him to his liking. Owen, Tarsals, and the girls stuffed themselves into the seats of the speeder carrying the luggage they couldn't tie down to the back. They took off first, with Anakin closely on their heels. With the two men clasping to his wings, he had to run the fighter at a much lower speed than Owen's speeder. It wasn't long before he lost sight of his brother.

 **...**

Darth Sidious paced around the stationary holo-image of his master, Darth Plagueis. He had just finished watching the holo-vid of the battle above Tatooine that his master had sent him.

"So, your attempt to capture the queen on that backwater planet has failed, and now you have no idea where she is?" Sidious was gloating as he talked. "After the battle, she could have jumped to hyperspace anywhere in the galaxy."

"The queen of Naboo is stubborn," Plagueis pointed out. "She went to Tatooine with a purpose, and she will not leave until she has fulfilled that purpose. I instructed the Neimoidians to send more dreadnoughts to capture her if she tries to leave."

"I thought you were convinced she was going to find a way to travel to Coruscant undetected."

"I did, but she might chance leaving in the same cruiser."

"So, you aren't going to actively seek her out?"

"No, I am afraid if I do, others might find out where she is. I have put out feelers for finding the Jedi, as going after him won't raise so many red flags. It looks like we will have to assume she will reach Coruscant."

"So, we will just have to go back to our original plan of having her assassinated here." Sidious didn't have to explain the rest of the original plan as they both knew what it was. Plagueis had selected Naboo for invasion solely because of its queen. She was young and beautiful and had a look that conveyed innocence and sweetness. Plagueis believed her assassination during her planet's invasion would galvanize the citizens of the Republic to confront the Neimoidians. He had said Queen Amidala had a face that would launch a thousand ships in vengeance and trigger the galactic war the two Sith wanted.

"Yes, you can still carry it out, can't you."

"Of course. Might I remind you, that we wouldn't be in this predicament if you had just arranged for her to come here in the first place."

"The Neimoidians didn't want that to happen. They realized she wouldn't go to sign any treaty, and I couldn't reveal to them I intended to have her assassinated with them taking the blame for it. That is why I was trying to find assassins on Naboo to kill her."

"This is why you should have had your own Muuns carry out the invasion, not pushed the Neimoidians into doing it."

"The death of Queen Amidala will not be popular, even among the Separatists. I already explained this to you, I needed patsies to take the fall for it. I do not have the time to discuss the plan to you as you should know it all already. You know what part you have to play, just carry it out." The image of Darth Plagueis disappeared, to the great delight of Sidious. With the image of Plagueis gone, he went back to watching the holo of the fight over Tatooine. This time, he paid special attention to the strange fighter that came to the aid of the queen. He marveled at the ability of the pilot, wondering how he was able to do what he did.

 **...**

Anakin's fighter reached his homestead a distant second behind Owen's speeder. When they got there, they found the others had already unloaded everything and gone inside.

They went down to find Owen introducing the other three to Beru. He introduced Obi-Wan and Captain Olie to his wife as well, simply referring to Obi-Wan as Jedi. She appeared enthused to have the guests.

While Owen was introducing the men, Padme nervously looked around the home. Upon first walking inside, she had gotten the sense there were no children living there. She didn't hear any and there were no toys around. That still didn't mean they couldn't be hiding somewhere, or if there was a baby there, they might be sleeping in a back room. She scanned the house nervously, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of children, but finding none.

"Owen and I discussed the sleeping arrangements," Anakin began. "It would be best for him and Beru to keep their room, but the two girls can have my room, provided you don't mind sharing a bed."

"Not at all." Padme answered. "It will be just like when we were young. We slept together a lot after our parents were killed." From the expression on Anakin's face, he was surprised and saddened to hear her mention their dead parents. She had forgotten that he knew nothing about her. Along with that, she knew little about him. She hadn't thought about where Owen and Anakin's parents might be. She hoped they had their own place and were not dead as well.

"Okay then. I'll just be crashing out here with the rest of the guys." With no one voicing any objections, Anakin went ahead and led the girls to his room. As they walked to the bedroom, she was relieved to see no signs of children.

"This is it," Anakin said as he stepped into his room and turned on the lights. The two royals couldn't help it, but they both had to fight the urge to turn their noses up at the accommodations. The room was dirty and smelly. It obviously needed a good cleaning. Padme looked around to see just how much, and as she did, her eyes fell upon a motionless protocol droid standing in one corner. She stared at it waiting for it to spring to life.

Anakin walked around the room pointing out a couple things, telling them what drawers they could use and what he wanted them to avoid using. He passed by the protocol droid without saying anything about it. Padme was just dying to know if it worked and had to ask.

"What's the deal with that protocol droid? Does he work?"

"That droid has quite the story," Anakin said with a laugh. "I built him as a wedding present for Owen and Beru, something that would help us around the house. I constructed him out of the best parts I could find. I even went through all the trouble of buying a high-end protocol droid program from a trader. I thought it would be just what we needed to bring a little class to this place." Anakin paused, as he had to fight back laughter.

"What went wrong with him?" Soala asked. "It seems that you shut him down permanently. Was there something wrong with the program you bought?"

"Yes, well, no. I guess it all depends on your point of view. The program I bought wasn't quite what I was expecting. It gave the droid a personality that we found prissy, arrogant, and annoying." Padme and Soala started giggling over Anakin's description of the protocol droid. They were extremely familiar with them and recognized what he was talking about. "The entire time he was on, he did nothing other than call us barbarians and tell us how dirty and unkempt we were. We did our best to put up with it, but meals were just too much. He kept telling us we were eating like animals and needed to learn proper table manners. The three of us all agreed to shut him down and never turn him on again."

"You know, Soala and I are quite familiar with protocol droids." Padme got her giggling under enough control to talk. "If you turn him on for us, we might be able to work with him, and explain that his job is just to serve, not to change your behavior."

Anakin considered what Padme said, but appeared skeptical about it. "Okay, I'll turn him on for you, but if he acts too much like he did before, he gets melted down."

"Okay." Padme winced as she was filled with dread over having the life of the droid in her hand.

Anakin walked over to the protocol droid and pressed a few buttons on it to get it started. Once the droid was activated, it stood up straight and stared at Anakin, its maker. It seemed scared at the sight of him as it walked back until it hit the wall. Its head darted around, trying to see if there was anyone else nearby. When it saw the two girls, it finally seemed at ease.

"Hello there," it said. To Padme, its voice and demeanor seemed pleasant. It was nothing like what she was expecting from what Anakin told them. "I am C-3PO, and I specialize in human cyborg relations. I am also programmed to communicate in over six million forms of communication and can perform all your translational needs."

Padme looked over at Anakin and arched her eyebrows. "Six million forms of communication? You really went all out with the program you bought. It must have cost you an awful lot."

"Tell me about it," Anakin said with a hint of disgust.

Padme let out a giggle before she introduced herself. "I am Queen Padme Naberre Amidala, ruler of Naboo. This is my sister, Princess Soala Naberre Amidala."

C-3PO looked between the girls and Anakin. While he didn't have facial expressions, all three humans could tell he was feeling confused. "Royalty? Here?" he exclaimed. "I can't believe this is possible?" He stared at Anakin, as if he was waiting for him to reveal it was all just some kind of cruel prank.

"It's real," Anakin said. "You have royalty to wait on. It's what you're programmed to do, isn't it?"

"Oh, thank the maker you're here." C-3PO bellowed. He rushed at Padme and ran right into her as he tried to embrace her. He didn't have enough freedom of movement with his arms to be able to wrap them around the woman, but Padme still understood what he was trying to do. She put her hands on his shoulders in a weak attempt to embrace him.

"I am so glad you're hear, Your Highness. You have no idea what I have been through." Even though droid couldn't cry, C-3PO's voice was cracking, as if he was close to breaking out in sobs. "The people here are absolute barbarians. They don't have the slightest idea what manners are."

"It's okay," Padme said as she patted the droid's shoulder.

"I'll leave the three of you alone," Anakin said. When he reached the door, he stopped to say something. "We'll be getting everything set up for the game. We could use the players, so please come down and help out."

 **...**

Padme and Soala didn't spend long in Anakin's room. When they came back out, C-3PO led them, as he wanted to announce their arrival, as he believed protocol demanded for royals. They had tried to politely decline, but realized the droid was anxious to live up to its programming. The two of them followed the droid with Soala first, as she would be announced first. Padme would be announced second, after the droid had played the recording he had of trumpets blowing. He had played it for them, as he wanted her to know when her cue would be. As she strolled into the living room, she hoped that something would prevent the protocol droid from announcing their arrival. She knew that level of formality in a place like this would be embarrassing.

Padme's savior would come in the form of the astromech droid, R2-D2. He was rolling out from the kitchen with a tray of drinks attached to his head. With the tray blocking his vision, he almost ran right into C-3PO. He beeped a rude remark, telling the protocol droid to watch where he was going. C-3PO didn't pay any attention to the rudeness of the remark. He was overjoyed to have another droid to talk to and introduced himself.

"Well, hello there. I am C-3PO, human cyborg relations. What is your name?"

Artoo gave C-3PO his name pleasantly enough, as the protocol droid repeated it back to him. After that, the astromech droid beeped a flurry of insults to the protocol droid.

"Well, I never," 3PO squealed as Artoo rolled away. "I never believed a droid could talk like that."

With C-3PO too flummoxed to introduce the royals, the queen and the princess slipped past him and joined the others gathering around the dining table.

"We assumed the two of you would want to play, so we set up for seven," Anakin said to them. Padme scanned the table and saw they had a large deck of cards laid out along with a set of chips.

"Yes, we'll play," she replied as she glanced at her sister. Soala seemed eager to play and took a spot behind one of the chairs.

Anakin and Owen assigned the seats so that they were between the five novices. They set up the game as the two droids started bringing things out from the kitchen. Beru was in their setting up trays of drinks and snacks as she prepared dinner.

The small group played a couple hands in which their cards were laid out on the table for everyone to see. That set-up allowed Own and Anakin to explain to them how they should play the cards they were dealt. While the basics of the game were easy to learn, there were subtleties to it that took a much deeper understanding.

After five hands, the novices came to feel they knew enough to start playing a real game. After all, they were only playing for chips, not money. They all had fun as they played one hand after another. All the first couple hands were won by either Anakin or Owen, but Obi-Wan, as he predicted, came to catch up to them. His use of Jedi powers allowed him to read what the others were doing, and that gave him a clear advantage.

They played the first couple hands in almost complete silence, as all the novice players needed to concentrate one hundred percent on their cards. As they became more comfortable with the game, they were able to concentrate on it less and start talking to one another.

Padme was very appreciative of everything Anakin and Owen were doing for them, and she wanted to make sure she thanked them. "I can't thank the two of you enough for everything you are doing for us," she said as she looked between the brothers. "As I said before Anakin, the people of Naboo will forever owe you a debt for coming to our rescue." She then turned her attention to Owen. "I want to thank you once again, Owen. I know this place is yours, and your wife's, as well. It must have been disconcerting to have Anakin call you and tell you there was a small group of people on the run that you needed to house for the night. And yet, you let us come here, and are helping us out, doing everything you can for us. I think we all really appreciate it."

"I'm glad we could help you out." Owen appeared embarrassed by all the praise the princess was heaping on him. "We don't exactly have too many chances to have guests stay over and show off the place like this. After everything we went through to get it, it's nice to have this opportunity."

"It sounds like there is a story there," Padme pointed out. "I don't want to be too intrusive, but would you mind telling us how you acquired this place. It would be nice to learn something about the people we owe so much to."

Anakin and Owen gave each other a look. To Padme, they appeared to be communicating without words. Anakin nodded to Owen, a signal he could go ahead and give their story.

"Perhaps I should start at the beginning," Owen said. The game had momentarily stopped, and Owen threw his chips in the center to keep it going. "This farm was bought by my parents when my mother was still pregnant with me. They were young and wanted a homestead. They had to get a loan to afford it, of course, but they figured this farm would be something they could build up and own outright. Something they could pass along to me one day."

"Things got off to an okay start; although it never quite produced the money they thought it would. Because of that, they had to take out more loans and acquire more debts, but they always figured one day everything would turn around for the better. They thought this place would start producing money, and all their debts would be paid off."

"Any hope they had of turning things around would be dashed when I was still just a toddler. My mother was out early in the morning, well after sunrise. Normally, the Sand People that populate these regions disappear around here by the time the sun comes up, but for whatever reason, this morning was different. They snatched my mother, taking her back to their village."

"My father put together a posse of nearby farmers to go out and find her. They tracked her down and fought off the Tuskens who had her. It was too late, though, she was dead, and my father was horribly injured in the rescue effort. He lost his leg and could only get around on a lift-chair. The entire ordeal made it almost impossible for him to keep up with his work. Besides the physical ailments, he was emotionally broken. The debts became so great there was no way he was ever going to be able to pay them off."

"I know in other areas of the galaxy, the Republic in particular, the debts would just result in default and the seizure of the farm. Things are different out here, however. We don't take out mortgages from banks, who would just foreclose upon default. We take out loans from individuals, and when we fail to pay, we become slaves of those individuals."

Save Anakin, everyone at the table was stunned by the revelation. Owen paused to glance around the table and gauge what everyone was thinking of his explanation. "I can guess a lot of you are thinking we were treated horribly, that we had to be beaten constantly to be kept in line, but it wasn't like that."

"Our masters had other ways to keep us in line." A few of the people at the table were startled by Anakin speaking up, as they had forgotten he was there. They all understood he was implying he had been a slave as well. "We were all implanted with chips that would blow us up if we ever tried to escape. The knowledge we could be easily killed at our masters' whim did much to keep us in line. While we knew our masters wouldn't quite be so cavalier about losing a slave, we also knew they could send the ultimate message anytime they wanted."

Things grew awkward around the table, as the guests didn't know how to respond to the knowledge their hosts had once been slaves. Anakin sensed what they were feeling and tried to alleviate their feelings. "Being slaves certainly wasn't ideal, but Owen and I would not be brothers if he had not ended up in slavery. Unlike him, I had been born into it. My mother had been kidnapped at a young age by slaver traders, and ended up being bought by Watto, our former master. I had just been born when he acquired Owen and Clieg. When he acquired them, he had them come and live with my mother and I over in Mos Espa, where most of his businesses were located. The four of us quickly formed a bond, as my mother and his father considered themselves married." From the look on Anakin's face, it was clear he was recalling pleasant memories. Despite that, several of the guests, including Padme, knew there had to be a tragedy behind the story.

"I've been wondering where your parents are," Padme spoke in a low voice, and felt guilty as she talked. "Would you mind explaining what happened to them?"

From the look on Anakin's face, Padme realized she had asked the wrong question. She was going to explain that he didn't have to answer, but Owen went ahead and did so before she could tell him not to do it. "Our parents never really did much in the way of work for Watto. My father did some repair work for Watto. My stepmother was simply hired out to others for domestic work. As Anakin and I grew, it was clear we were much more valuable than our parents. The two of us both developed mechanical abilities that Watto took full advantage of with his junk shop. The four of us formed a strong family unit, and I think Watto came to believe because of that we would find a way to win our freedom. In order to prevent that, he sold our parents to space pirates when I was twelve and Anakin was eight." There was disgust in Owen's voice as he described what happened.

"Their time with the space pirates would be short," Anakin said as he picked up the story. "Shortly after they were sold, we received word they had attacked the wrong ship. The tried to rob a warship that was disguised as a freighter. Their ship was destroyed, with no survivors."

Everyone at the table grew quiet over hearing how Anakin and Owen had become orphans. Several of the guests considered saying they were sorry to hear about the death of their parents, but it seemed unnecessary having taken place so long ago. For his part, Anakin wasn't dejected thinking about it, as he had more of a story to tell. "Their death would set in motion events that would lead the two of us to gain our freedom. I was still young, but I made a pledge to find a way to free us one day. I was determined not to suffer the same fate our parents did."

While Anakin talked, he glared at Owen. Several of the guests picked up on tension between the two concerning this part of the story. In glaring at Owen, Anakin stayed silent, as if he was waiting to see if his step-brother would pick up the story from there. When Owen stayed silent, Anakin went ahead and told it.

"Despite the fact the two us were still young, Watto left us to our own devices. The truth is, he worked us so hard that we didn't have much time for anything else. We weren't quite isolated, though. In our work, we got to know many of the other slaves in the city. Owen, in particular, came to grow very close to the girl who cleaned Watto's shop once a week, Beru." As Anakin talked, he had an expression of pure happiness on his face. It said a lot about him that he got so much joy reminiscing about the relationship between his brother and sister-in-law.

In contrast to Anakin, Owen didn't seem so pleased about Anakin talking about this portion of their lives. None of the guests could understand why he was taking this attitude. As Anakin continued with his story, they kept their ears perked up for anything that could be causing Owen's mood.

"Owen and Beru started dating when they were sixteen, and after a year it became apparent they wanted to marry, if only their masters would allow it. As both Watto and Beru's masters had other plans for their slaves, the two of them knew they would never be married if they remained slaves. Because of the chips, running away was not an option. The two of them concluded they were going to have to give up any hope of being together."

Anakin paused to give his brother a piercing glare. There was an anger in his eyes. Padme in particular wondered what the source of that anger was. "Lucky for them, I stepped up and started to formulate a plan on how we might free ourselves so the two of them could be together. I knew attacking Watto wouldn't work, as all the slave masters in the city looked out for each other. The slave masters shared all the information on our chips, so that if one master was killed by his slaves, another one could execute them. It didn't take me long to realize the only way for any of us to earn our freedom was for all the slaves to attack their masters at once. I was still a boy, and I didn't think I would be able to act as the front-man for the insurrection. I took my idea to Owen, and after much convincing, he agreed to recruit the other slaves in Mos Espa for a mass attack against our masters."

There was annoyance in Anakin's voice as he described how he had to convince Owen of his plan. The guests now had an answer to why Owen was feeling so angry over this story. Despite the fact they were now free, how it had taken place was still a sore point between them.

"I let you talk me into something that I never should have agreed to. We ended up free only because of luck." Owen kept his attention on his cards and didn't look at anyone as he talked.

"We earned our freedom because of my abilities." Anakin scowled in anger as he spoke. He caught himself and sounded much calmer as he further explained what happened. "It took almost a year to set up, but we ended up getting every slave to agree to an attack. We picked out a night where we would all attack our masters in their sleep at the exact same time. It took a lot of coordination, but it was a relatively simple plan. The reason Owen doesn't have fond memories of this is because the masters were tipped off to our plans by a slave who was too scared to kill his master and earn his freedom. The masters hired a band of mercenaries to capture us while they hid in an undisclosed location."

Anakin's enthusiasm did seem to decrease as he talked about how their grand plan had almost failed. "The mercenaries were too much, and each group of slaves surrendered quickly to them. Owen and I were no different. We gave ourselves up when we saw Watto was not in his bed."

"The two of us were taken to the place where all the other captured slaves had been taken. The group of slave masters arrived shortly thereafter to gloat over their capture of us. Owen and I were led to the front of the group, as Watto suspected the two of us were behind everything. Watto was the one to tell us we were all going to die. They were going to activate our chips, one-by-one and make us watch each other explode. They were insured against that very thing and looked forward to being able to collect the money for the loss of their slaves. They pledged to kill the two of us first, since we were the most responsible for everything."

Knowing now what Owen had been referring to, the guests were anxious to hear how Anakin's abilities had saved them. "Perhaps I should take it from here, Anakin." Everyone was surprised that Owen had spoken up. His gaze was no longer on his cards, or even Anakin, it was on Obi-Wan. "What Anakin did might best be explained by someone who observed it all."

Owen paused to run his hand through his hair. He did not seem to relish having to tell this story. "As Anakin told you, the two of us were taken to the front of the group. Watto was going to kill us first, since we were the most responsible for the uprising. When Watto pulled out his tablet, I knew he was going to activate our chips and kill us. I closed my eyes, as I couldn't bear to watch. I kept them closed as I waited, but nothing happened. It took me a little while longer to finally summon the courage to open them, and when I did, I saw Watto struggling to breath. He had his own hand around his throat, trying to remove whatever it was that was compressing his windpipe. I then noticed his eyes, which were filled with terror as he was looking directly at Anakin."

"When I looked over at Anakin, I could see he had his hand raised and clenched into a fist. I didn't understand how he was doing it, but he was choking Watto with the power of his mind. When I looked back to Watto, I finally noticed that every slave master was choking as well. The fear and terror they were feeling emanated out and reached us. I stared at the group of slave masters, wondering which one would be the first one to die."

"My attention was diverted by the sounds of a couple commotions coming from the edges of the group of slaves. I looked around to see the mercenaries trying to fight their way through to Anakin. Our fellow slaves had come to his defense and ganged up on the mercenaries to try and stop them. They were doing their best, but it was clear to me they were not going to be able to hold them off forever. The mercenaries were outnumbered, but they were much better trained and much more experienced fighters."

"I was still looking around when I felt something push me to the ground. At first, I thought someone had just pushed me over, but as I gathered myself, I noticed everyone else had been pushed to the ground as well. Anakin was the only one still standing. Just as he was using his mind to suffocate the masters, he had used his mind to push everyone to the ground."

"The mercenaries were the first to recover and stand. I thought for sure they were going to come right at Anakin. The path was clear for them as everyone else was still sprawled out on the ground. Instead of attacking, they turned and ran. They had seen enough and must have been frightened of what they were seeing Anakin do. They wanted no part of it."

"The slave masters were close to death when Anakin finally released them. I wondered what he was doing. I thought for sure they would all immediately try to blow up any slave they could, but Anakin used telepathy to call all their devices to him, and he distributed them around to us. He stepped forward and was firm as he talked to them. He told them they were going to grant all of us our freedom and would have to give up all the codes to deactivate our chips. They readily gave them up, and in a minute, they were all deactivated and we were free."

"A great wave of relief came over the crowd. We were all overjoyed we had won our freedom and were happy merely with that. Anakin, however, was not done. He insisted that all the slave masters give us the codes to everything, as all they owned was to be handed over to us. They looked at each other hesitantly before looking back at Anakin. They knew what he was capable of and they did not want to incur his wrath. They gave up everything, and within a matter of minutes we had taken all they had."

"For the three of us, that meant getting the deed to this place. We moved back here, and Beru and I married. That was four years ago, and we've been successfully running this farm ever since then."

Owen paused to see if anyone had any comments to make. While everyone had a bunch of thoughts going through their minds, they didn't articulate any of them as they didn't know what was proper to ask. The story they had just heard was remarkable, and it was taking them a while to process everything.

Padme was not too badly fazed by the story she was hearing. The only thing running through her mind was what Anakin was feeling at that moment. She was feeling very sympathetic towards him. She hated to think he was reliving all the pain he had experienced growing up a slave and losing his parents.

She stared at Anakin to try and gauge what his emotional state was. He was looking down at his cards. He felt her staring at him and looked up to stare back. When their eyes met, they once again connected through the Force. Padme seized up as she was able to feel everything Anakin was. Just as she had suspected, he was being forced to relive all the pain he had experienced. She felt like she was violating him and started to look away to try and break the connection.

 _It's okay._ Padme froze in place as she was shocked she was able to hear Anakin's thoughts in her head. _I don't mind that you know everything I'm feeling. Everything I'm thinking. I hope you don't mind that I can do the same with you._

 _No._ Padme knew instinctively through their connection that Anakin had received the reply she thought. _Even though I hardly know you, I trust you, Anakin. I have no fear being this open with you._

Anakin didn't have to smile for Padme to know that he was pleased with her reply. As the two of them stayed connected, Padme could feel Anakin pushing away all the bad thoughts he had from being a slave. Instead, all the pain left him to be replaced by pride. He was proud of what he had done to free himself and all his friends.

"Do any of you have any questions you would like to ask?" Owen said. Padme and Anakin had become so lost in each other that they had forgotten where they were. Owen's voice startled them both, bringing them out from the deep connection they had been experiencing.

"I do have one question about your story," Olie said. "Anakin, how were you able to strangle the slave masters? You obviously used the Force, but I've never heard of a Jedi doing something like that."

"That's because strangling someone is a dark side power." Obi-Wan answered Olie's question for Anakin. "The power comes from fear, and anger. Most Jedi control of the Force is derived from peace, and a desire to protect."

"I apologize for using the dark side and breaking the rules of the Jedi order," Anakin was speaking in a sarcastic tone. "I was just a teen, facing death and looking for any way I could to save myself and the ones I loved."

"I understand that," Obi-Wan was calm as he responded to Anakin's sarcastic tone. "You were never trained in utilizing the Force and because of that you don't know how to use it properly. The fact you can use it at all is remarkable. You have an innate ability to use the Force at a level that I have never seen. I'm not sure if someone with your untrained ability has ever been recorded in the Jedi history. You have an ability that with the right training could be put to great use."

Anakin's head swelled with pride as a smile creased across his lips. Padme looked at him, their eyes met, and they connected once again. She could feel the excitement he was feeling over the Jedi's words. He interpreted them as meaning that the Jedi might want to train him in the ways of his Order. Padme was telepathically telling him she was thinking the same thing, and she was happy for him.

Captain Olie was disgusted over the way he saw the Jedi trying to manipulate Anakin. He offered him a warning. "Don't let this man shame you into following his ways. Don't be one of these people who believes the Jedi are the begin all and end all of everything that happens in the Republic. Let me tell you a little truth about the matter. The Jedi are manipulative tricksters. They use their abilities in the Force to make everyone believe they have unique insight that we all must follow but following them leads to disaster more often than it leads to success. They themselves must work hard just to keep their own Knights in line. What he just told you, about the crime in using the dark side, that is how they do it. Any Jedi who questions his master too much is accused of flirting with the dark side. They hold it up as the epitome of evil, even though they can't seem to explain what it is."

"The light side and the dark side are not hard to explain. I just did it a minute ago." Obi-Wan remained calm as he spoke. He knew Olie would love nothing more than to anger him, and he was determined not to give the man the satisfaction. "The light side is the side of peace and selflessness. Following the light side means putting others before yourself and doing that which benefits the most people. The dark side is the side of fear, anger, and most of all, selfishness."

"And let me guess, following the light side means following the orders of the Jedi leaders?"

"That is a simplistic way to put it," Obi-Wan said. "There is much truth to it, though. Our leaders are wise, and in tune with the Force. They use that power to see the path we must take."

"And there you go, if you don't follow the Jedi leaders, you are following the dark side of the Force."

"I don't know where your ideas are even coming from." Obi-Wan could do nothing more than laugh at Olie's insinuations.

"What point is there for this whole distinction between the light and the dark side other than to force one particular point of view on everyone?" Olie was not giving up with his complaints about the Jedi. "Let's apply some of the principles you just mentioned to Anakin's actions, the ones you said were a sinful use of the dark side. Yes, he was lashing out in fear, and anger, but it was all done in the end to save his family and friends, and free them from slavery. In my opinion, his actions were righteous and selfless."

Before replying to Olie, Obi-Wan looked at Anakin for a moment. He seemed displeased he was going to have to explain how Anakin's actions were wrong. "Since you asked, I will explain Anakin's actions. What he did, he did out of fear of his own death, and anger over being controlled by his slave masters. He lashed out to kill, as he couldn't think of any other way to save himself. Much of that stems from not realizing what power he had. As a Jedi, if I had been in that situation, I would have simply used the Force to call their tablets to me. If you remember the story, Anakin was able to do that once he was calm, and able to utilize the light side instead of the dark side."

"So, the breakdown between light side actions and dark side actions is the motivation behind them?" Olie asked.

"That is a simplistic view, but that is mostly accurate," Obi-Wan replied. "There are a lot of actions that are always dark side powers, proper motivation doesn't make them light side power."

"What about powers like reading minds?" Olie asked. "It would seem to me that violating someone's thoughts like that would be a dark side power. However, all the Jedi read minds, so it must be a light side power, right?"

"I take it you're implying that you believe Jedi are able to read the thoughts of others?"

"I don't know how else you could interpret the term reading minds."

"Well, the truth is, the Jedi don't possess the ability to read thoughts, if that is what you are implying. It's not a Force power we possess." The reaction of Captain Olie indicated he did not believe what the Jedi was saying. Padme and Anakin were both glad all eyes were on Olie, as they both had visible reactions to Obi-wan's statement that no one ended up noticing. They stared at each other, wondering how they had been able to talk telepathically if the Force didn't give people the ability to read minds.

 _Should we tell them what we can do?_ Padme asked Anakin in her mind.

 _No, not yet._ The two of them did their best to appear normal as they watched Obi-Wan and Olie spar with each other.

"The Jedi not being able to read thoughts goes against everything I have heard about their power," Olie said.

"Perhaps, instead of believing rumors, you should believe the word of an actual Jedi."

"If you can't read thoughts, then how did everyone come to believe you have that ability? I've heard numerous people claim you can read precisely what they are thinking."

"I would imagine it came from the knowledge that we are able to read the emotions of others. That often gives us enough insight to gauge what someone might be thinking. I can see how it would be easy for others to get confused."

"So, why is doing that not considered a violation of other's that would make it a dark side power."

"Because the Jedi do not consider reading emotions a violation. There are normal people out there who are good at reading people, judging what they are thinking or feeling from their body language or facial expression. What we do is not much different from that."

"Seems like a pretty self-serving rationalization to me," Olie scoffed.

"Well, it appears you just have a lot to learn about the Force and the Jedi way. Despite the fact you are not Force sensitive, I would be willing to instruct you in Jedi teachings, so that you might know what they are and not fear us because of your ignorance."

"If you're willing to teach me something, I would be willing to learn it. Why don't you start by answering a question I have? Going back to what Anakin did, what was the harm in harnessing his anger? It was righteous, was it not?"

"I understand why he had cause for his anger." Obi-Wan looked at Anakin to see if he had anything to say. It appeared he wanted to stay out of the conversation. "One of the reasons Jedi must be trained from birth is that so much of what we learn concerns the control of our emotions. While anger can often be righteous, it still should never be used to utilize the Force. This is what we learn from an early age. Anakin's situation shows why we must exert so much control over our emotions. Anger can easily be given into, especially when it is righteous. The problem is the lesson learned from a situation like that can lead someone to believe that it is always best to let their anger be used to utilize the Force. Do that too many times, and the dark side consumes you. When that happens, a state of anger is sought out, as anger is what is needed to utilize the Force. Any sense of calm, or peace, becomes impossible. The philosophy to swear off the dark side and all its anger and embrace the light side and its sereneness is what separates the Jedi from other groups of Force users."

"I didn't think there were any other groups of Force users?" Owen was thoroughly confused as he asked his question.

"I can understand why you are confused." Olie jumped back into the conversation. "According to the Jedi, there is another group of Force users which fully embrace the dark side and utilize it. They call themselves the Sith, and the Jedi like to tell everyone they are behind everything bad that happens in the galaxy. They are the eternal invisible bogeyman, the unseen evil the Jedi must be called on to root out. Every time there is a crisis, they claim the Sith must be behind it. This causes everyone turn to them for assistance."

"The Jedi are called in to alleviate crises because we have proven ourselves to be trusted peacemakers with the ability to handle any situation." Olie's words had finally succeeded in getting to Obi-wan, and he was speaking with a raised voice. "Fear of the Sith has almost nothing to do with it."

"So, are you trying to deny that the Jedi spread fear of the Sith?"

"The Jedi do not spread fear of the Sith in the manner you are trying to imply. They are a real threat. One that has stayed hidden, but one that is truly out there. We only rarely find the presence of the Sith behind events."

"What about the invasion of our planet. Were the Sith behind that as well?" From the way Olie talked, and the look on his face, everyone could tell he was mocking the Jedi. Obi-Wan glanced at Padme, wondering if she had told the pilot about the conversation they had, where he revealed feeling the presence of the dark side. From the expression on Padme's face, she seemed surprised Olie was bringing up the role of the Sith in the invasion of Naboo. He took that as a sign she had not revealed the information to Olie.

"As a matter of fact, I think the Sith may very well be behind the invasion of your planet." Olie scoffed at him as he shook his head. "I mentioned this to Queen Amidala earlier. Right before I passed out on the ship, I entered into a Force trance. I felt the presence of the dark side. I don't think the presence I was feeling was on Naboo, though. It could have come from someone on Naboo communicating with a Sith. If they are involved, then we all might be in the middle of a massive manipulation."

"Are the Sith really that powerful?" Olie's voice was nothing but one long scowl. "If there were really that many around, shouldn't someone have encountered one by now. You always talk as if the Jedi are equal to the Sith. If so, then how come they not have been seen? The Jedi Order is large, so the Sith must be just as large, right?"

"In numbers, the Sith are not equal to the Jedi. As far as we know, there are only two of them, a master and an apprentice."

"How convenient," Olie said with a smile. "Just two. That explains why they have been so hard to find. Now, to me, it's hard for me to believe the Sith could be responsible for so much evil in the world if there are only two of them. It would seem like the dark side is more powerful, if that were true."

"The dark side is not more powerful, it's just easier. It is much easier to use the Force to get your way instead of calmly calling on the Force for defensive purposes and looking for diplomatic solutions to problems. The difficulty in avoiding the dark side requires an immense amount of self-control, and that comes from a lifetime of commitment to Jedi teachings."

They had reached a point in the conversation where each side was just going to have to agree to disagree. They turned back to the card game. Obi-Wan proved very adept at it, and everyone started to get confident that he would be able to win the money they needed. Anakin, on the other hand, was beginning to have doubts. They weren't about the Jedi's ability to win at the game, they were about something else. He expressed his reservations to the rest of the group.

"I failed to mention this before, because I figured you wouldn't actually be able to win at this game like you thought you would. You've proven me wrong, there, but there is another problem you are going to have. People around here are extremely skeptical of strangers. You might be able to play the game and win at it, but you are not going to be permitted to leave with your money. Any newcomer who wins big is going to be suspected of cheating. You will be no different."

"I appreciate your concern, but I think I will be okay." Obi-Wan spoke with the utmost of confidence.

"What are you going to do, use your powers of persuasion to win everyone over?" Olie spoke up as he couldn't help but work in another dig at the Jedi.

"Something like that," Obi-Wan replied. He didn't feel like going into all the details of the Jedi mind trick.

"You better be able to do what you say." There was more than a hint of anger in Olie's voice. "We are going to be selling almost every weapon we have in order to fund your buy-in for this game. We have one shot at this, and I don't want to see it wasted."

"It won't be wasted, but the final decision ultimately rests with your queen." Obi-Wan gave Padme a hard stare. "If you don't trust me to get the money, just say so."

"I trust you, Jedi," Padme replied. "I am confident you will come through for us."

The small group played one hand after another. They were trying to get Obi-Wan as much practice as they could, as everything was riding on him. They had one shot to win the money they needed, and they couldn't waste it.

Wanting to play as much as possible, they didn't stop to eat. When dinner was brought out, they just placed the plates around their cards. Each person just took in a mouthful of food between making bets. No one seemed to mind, except for 3PO. When he saw the queen and princess eating in the same undignified manner as the men, he absolutely swooned. If droids had possessed the ability to faint, he would have.

After several hours, they were all tired and headed right to bed. The royals took their leave and made their way to Anakin's room, with C-3PO trailing right behind them. Owen and Beru went off to their room. Anakin took the others out to the workshop, where they were able to find makeshift sleeping arrangements. With the three guests all having military backgrounds, they were accustomed to having to sleep anywhere. Once they were all settled, Anakin headed back to the living room. He stretched out on the couch as he tried to sleep. While he found the couch comfortable, his mind was pre-occupied with what Obi-Wan had said to him about the dark side, and how he had used and channeled it. He knew it was bad, and the implications scared him. Knowing it would be a while before he would be able to sleep, he thought it might be best to get up and get some fresh air. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a drink before making his way to the front door.

 **...**


	3. Games and Bounties

**Chapter 3: Games and Bounties**

 **...**

When Padme and Soala climbed into bed together, the two sisters were excited by the feeling they were reliving their childhood. Despite having spent over a day completely awake, they had no problem delaying sleep even longer so they could talk. Wanting to keep the talk lighthearted, they did their best to avoid discussing anything serious. They talked about the card game, and Anakin. They marveled over what kind of guy he was, and Padme even told her sister about the Force connection the two of them had. While they both knew Padme could never have a relationship with him, for one night, they pretended otherwise.

After an hour of talking, Soala drifted off to sleep. Padme found it humorous the way she did so. She was in the middle of a sentence when all the sudden she just stopped. She had fallen asleep in the middle of talking. It was something she had done all the time when they were younger.

Given how long Padme had been awake, she should have been able to fall asleep easily. She was unable to do so, however, as there were so many thoughts running through her head. She was in a desperate situation, looking for a way to liberate her planet from the Neimoidians despite having almost no allies to aid her. While she had been raised to rule, she never quite expected a situation like this. She didn't know what to do, and it scared her.

On top of everything that was happening with the invasion of her planet, there was the situation with Anakin. They had just met, yet the two of them seemed to share a special connection. Even without that connection, she knew she would have been smitten with him. Anakin was everything she was looking for in a man; brave, heroic, selfless, and incredibly good-looking. It seemed like the Force was playing a cruel joke on them by trying to get them together. He was just a lowly farmer, a former slave. She was a queen, the sovereign of an entire planet. Their relative stations in life meant they could never be together.

In the middle of tossing and turning, she heard Artoo beeping from downstairs. For a moment, she was gripped with fear as it sounded like he was trying to beep a warning and tell them an intruder had found them. She immediately felt at ease when she recognized the voice of Anakin.

"Don't worry Artoo, it's just me, Anakin." Artoo warbled something that sounded like an apology for mistaking Anakin for an intruder. "While I'm happy to have you watching for intruders, you should remember that they won't be coming from inside the house. If they do, it means there's no one left to warn about an intruder." The gurgle that came from Artoo indicated he didn't like his mistake being pointed out.

Knowing that Anakin was up, Padme was anxious to talk to him. She wanted to speak privately with him about the connection they shared. Being able to do so while everyone else was asleep was the perfect opportunity.

Not wanting to wake Soala, she did her best to get out of bed quietly. She was just going to walk out but realized she should probably put on a robe to make sure Anakin didn't get the wrong idea. She cursed herself for not getting it out earlier. She had to fumble around in the dark first just to find her suitcase, and then feel her way through everything in it to find the robe. As she put it on, she was thankful she had managed to avoid waking Soala.

She walked downstairs and to the front entrance, where Artoo was standing guard. He turned his domed head around to look at her, but after what happened with Anakin, he refrained from beeping.

"Good boy," Padme said as she patted him on the top of his head. He really didn't like being treated like a pet and warbled his displeasure. Anakin was sitting right outside the door on the side of the stairwell. The outside light was on, illuminating the stairs and making Anakin visible to her. He had heard Padme's voice and peaked his head inside.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Sure, there's a free piece of stairwell for you to sit on." When he motioned to the spot opposite his, she saw he had a bottle in his hand. He took a sip of it as she walked through the door and sat.

"Want a sip?" he asked as he held out the bottle for her.

"Sure." She grabbed it and took in a mouthful of the drink without thinking about what it was. Her mouth was full before she realized the drink was too alcoholic for her. She hesitated for a second as her mind raced with what she should do. That just made everything worse as she felt the liquid was burning her mouth and throat. She hunched over as she spit it out on to the stairs.

Despite expelling the drink, it was still wreaking havoc on her mouth and throat. She coughed for several minutes, with the coughs coming so hard it sounded like the contents of her stomach were going to come up as well.

"Do you need me to hold your hair back while you throw up?" Padme wasn't paying that much attention to Anakin and couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or serious.

"No, I'll be fine." While Padme struggled to talk, speaking seemed to do the trick and her coughs stopped. She gained her composure quickly as she was able to sit up straight again.

"Sorry I didn't warn you about the drink. I forget what we have out here is much stronger than what is found in the more civilized parts of the galaxy. Everyone out here likes to say that we have strong drinks for a tough world."

"Don't worry about it," Padme said as she pushed her hair out of her face. She had to let out a few last coughs before she could continue. "Even if you had told me you thought the drink was too strong for me, I probably wouldn't have believed you." Padme giggled as she talked, and her entire face seemed to light up to Anakin. She looked beautiful to Anakin.

"You look good with your hair down," he said to her. "You should wear it more often like that. You look much more beautiful."

"Thanks," Padme said as her cheeks turned red. She was embarrassed that Anakin had made her blush and she didn't want him to know it. She started brushing her hair over cheeks to hide them. She also turned her head away from him. It served to hide one cheek, but make the other cheek even more visible to him.

Wondering if Anakin was noticing her embarrassment, she looked over at him. Their eyes met, and they connected. She was able to once again feel everything he was and read his mind. He was thinking about how beautiful she was, and how much he wanted her. He didn't like her being able to read those thoughts and looked away from her to break it.

"I'm sorry," Padme said. "I shouldn't have tried to connect with you like that."

"You don't have to apologize for anything. It doesn't seem like either one of us is able to control it."

"Anakin, have, have you been able to connect like this with anyone else?" Padme was tentative as she asked her question.

"No, never," he replied. He was feeling excited over the fact they were finally talking about their connection and what it meant. "I don't have the slightest idea what is causing it. It must be through the Force."

"But from what the Jedi said it appears to be deeper than what they can achieve. We can read each other's thoughts, something he said they couldn't do."

"As I explained before, I have always had certain instinctive abilities in the Force. This connection must be part of it. As the Jedi explained, I can channel the Force in ways the Jedi seem unable to. My unique abilities are allowing us to read each other's thoughts, a power that is seemingly unknown to other Force users."

A mischievous smile came across Anakin's lips as a thought occurred to him.

"What are you smiling about?" Padme asked.

"I think our connections is a sign the Force wants us to be together. Our destinies are intertwined."

"We can't be together, ever," Padme said as she shook her head. She fought the urge to take a glance at him to see his reaction. Anakin had other ideas. He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, maneuvering it so they were looking each other in the eye once again. They instantly connected. She had been thinking about all the reasons they couldn't be together, and he could read those thoughts. She was a queen, and as a queen there were certain expectations about who she should marry. Her marriage would produce the heir to throne. Thus, it was vital she marry someone of the proper stock. A farmboy from Tatooine would never be considered the proper stock.

Padme was pained that Anakin was reading her mind and had access to her unfiltered thoughts. She hadn't thought their connection was a violation before, but she was starting to feel so now. She tried to move her head away so they were no longer looking at each other, but Anakin was holding her so tightly she couldn't do that. She closed her eyes, and that proved sufficient to break the connection.

Right before the connection broke, Padme felt Anakin's response to her thoughts. She had expected him to be utterly dejected. Instead, he was feeling confident. He was confident that one day, he would rise to the proper station to marry her. She knew she had to set him straight

When Padme closed her eyes and broke the connection, Anakin had let go of her chin, so she didn't have to worry about him forcing her to look at him. She opened her eyes to see the confidence he was feeling was showing on his face. She knew she was going to have to set him straight. "The two of us will never be able to be together. I hate to have to say it, but it's true. You seem like an incredible man, Anakin. If I wasn't a royal, I would be more than happy to pursue a relationship with you. It's unjust that someone like you would never be considered worthy of me, but that is the world I inhabit."

"What if I did something to raise my stature?"

"Like becoming a Jedi Knight?" Padme made reference to the thoughts of Anakin she had been able to read.

"I would at least like to know why that wouldn't work."

"Well, one reason it wouldn't work is because Jedi are not allowed to love, they're not allowed to enter into romantic relationships."

"That only applies while they are currently Jedi. I could become a Jedi, make a name for myself, then quit to marry you."

"You're forgetting one additional detail," Padme began. "Because of the Jedi practice of anonymity, you'll never make a name for yourself as a Jedi. Look at the Jedi in there. None of us know his name. He flat out refused to give it when you tried to introduce him to your brother. Any exploits you were able to perform as a Jedi would be unknown to the rest of the galaxy."

Anakin seemed truly dejected that there was no way to raise his stature so he could be with her. Padme didn't have to be connected with him to know how he was feeling. She was feeling bad herself and wanted to alleviate his feelings.

"Even though becoming a Jedi won't help you win me, I still think it would be good for you to do."

Anakin looked at her with an expression on his face that showed extreme skepticism. She didn't look at him long, as she did her best to glance away so their connection wouldn't form. "I know the Jedi in there appeared anxious to train me, but we both heard him claim the Jedi only take children. The only people they train are the ones they take in at birth."

"They could make an exception for you. The Jedi said you were very strong in the Force. I saw what you did when you saved us, and while I can't feel the Force, I could tell there had to be something supernatural behind what you were doing. The Jedi have been experiencing a decline in power and prestige over the last couple decades. They could really use someone like you. I don't think the Jedi Council will have a problem granting you an exception so they might train you."

A mischievous grin came across Anakin's face as a thought occurred to him. "If you think the Council will make an exception for me on age, maybe they'll make one for me on anonymity as well. What better way for them to regain their lost prestige then to have a great Jedi make a name for himself. A popular, extraordinary hero sounds like what they need."

"You're describing the exact situation the Jedi are trying to avoid by practicing anonymity. No one Jedi is supposed to become larger than the Order."

Anakin tilted his head back as he looked up through the clear sky at the stars overhead. Padme could tell he was deep in thought.

"It looks like I'll just have to find a way to raise my stature myself." His gaze returned to her.

"And just how do you propose to do that?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "When I was in your head, I was able to see the desire you had to liberate your planet. Perhaps I could help you with that. You saw what I did to save you. I could do the same thing over Naboo. If I did that, I would really make a name for myself with your people, would I not?"

"Yes, you would," Padme said with a sigh. "The problem with that, is all the ideas I have for liberating my planet are nothing more than hopeless fantasies. In order to kick the Neimoidians off my planet, I would need an immense army. Probably something along the lines of a million soldiers and a thousand ships. Right now, all I have are the Naboo cruiser, me, and the three guys in there."

"What about your sister?"

"If I do anything to try and re-take my planet, Soala will be no part of it. I will not allow her life to be put at risk like that." Padme was so adamant that it scared Anakin for a moment.

"That's a good start at least," Anakin pointed out. "I could feel that you were hoping to find more allies on Coruscant."

"That was another thought that was mostly a hopeless fantasy." Padme once again had to sigh. "The Separatists have been carrying out assaults like this for a number of years, and the Senate has been unwilling to act. I don't think the invasion of my planet will be any different."

"How can that be?" The anger in Anakin's voice was strong. "How can they just let the Separatists do this?"

"They believe the aims of the warlords are limited. They have done a good job of claiming they are just pursuing legitimate grievances. It's enough for the appeasers to look the other way and believe the warlords will soon tire of conquest and become docile and quiet."

"Does the entire government believe that?"

"Most of the Senate does, but there is one notable exception. Sheev Palpatine has been sounding the warning his entire life about these warlords. When they first started rising to power, he tried to sound the alarm they would seek conquest. None of the politicians wanted to listen to him, and as a Senator from a system on the edge of the Republic, Kamino, he was easy to ignore."

"Why is everyone so afraid to stand up to the warlords?"

"Because right now the galaxy is a powder keg ready to blow. The alliance between the Muuns and the Neimoidians should have triggered laws that require the Senate to intervene, but everyone still appears too afraid to act. One warlord in particular, the Muun Hego Damask, has constructed an elaborate series of alliances with other warlords to all go to war against the Republic should they ever intervene militarily. Its questionable if the warlords will truly honor those alliance, but there seems to be enough of a desire for war that they will do so. If the war was to break out, the Republic would be in a bad position. The government has no military itself. It would be reliant on its member systems contributing their own planetary defense forces to a Republic army. Even then, it would need every member to contribute forces to match what all the Separatist warlords have. Given that all contributions would be voluntary, it's questionable what kind of military force the Republic could construct, especially at the beginning."

"Meaning the Separatists would have the advantage at the start."

"And meaning that almost none of the Senators would want to risk a large-scale war by trying to liberate my planet."

"So, if nobody wants to risk that kind of large scale war, what is there to do?"

"Make an agreement with the Muuns and Neimodians and hope for the best. Perhaps they would allow me to go back to my planet, and at least act like I am the ruler. If so, I might keep the occupying forces in line."

"And what if they don't allow you to return to your planet and be a puppet ruler."

Padme flinched at the reference to her being a puppet ruler. "Then, I would have to find somewhere to live in exile."

A sly smile appeared on Anakin's face as a thought occurred to him. "Well then, if you were to be a deposed, it would seem like you would be free to live with me. I'll admit this place isn't very exciting, and wouldn't be what you are accustomed to, but you would have me, and Owen, and Beru, and your sister, if she wanted to stay with us. Would that be so bad?"

"I could never do that, Anakin. Even if I were deposed, I would never be able to stop fighting for my people. I would be spending all my time trying to find a way to liberate them. I couldn't exactly do that if I were with you."

"So, everything you said about being with you if you weren't a royal was a lie." Anakin's anger came through in the way he scowled.

"It wasn't a lie." Padme looked at Anakin. His eyes were on the ground. The expression on his face conveyed the utter dejection he was feeling. "If there was a scenario that would allow me to be with you, I would jump at it."

"Sure." Despite saying just one word, the sarcasm in Anakin's voice came through loud and clear.

Padme racked her brain for a way to convince Anakin she was telling the truth. When she finally realized what she needed to do, she cursed herself for not thinking of it right away. Still angry, she jumped down and grabbed Anakin's face with both her hands.

"Look at me!" she yelled. When their eyes met, they connected. Anakin was able to read her mind and know what she truly felt and thought about him. He found out she really would be with him, if her planet were free, and she was no longer its ruler.

Feeling horrible for doubting her, Anakin averted his eyes to break the connection. Feeling they had talked enough for the night, Padme figured it was time to end it.

"I've been awake for a over a day now," Padme said in a soft voice. "I should get some sleep." Anakin stayed silent as she headed back inside.

 **...**

As the twin suns of Tatooine rose to signal the start of a new day, Owen and Beru rose with them, as they did every day. Beru headed straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She had her work cut out for her that day, having to fix it for so many extra people. Owen went outside to check on the vaporators. He normally just took a quick look at them to make sure the sand people or Jawas didn't do anything to them in the middle of the night.

When Owen stepped outside, he was surprised to find Obi-Wan had beaten him out. He was looking up into the sky through a telescopic viewer. Owen walked up right beside him.

"Are you looking at anything interesting?" he asked the Jedi.

"As a matter of fact, I am." Obi-Wan spoke slowly as he replied. "I'm counting at least six capital ships belonging to the Neimoidian federation."

"So, they've found you." Owen did his best to hide the fear he was feeling, but he was never going to be successful in fooling a Jedi.

"If you want us to leave, we will not hesitate to do so. You have been more than hospitable."

"I think it might be too late to do that. I would rather have you here to fight then send you along your way."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Obi-Wan said as he continued looking through the viewfinder. "It looks like we won't have to worry about anybody coming our way. I don't see any shuttles or ships of any kind flying around the capital ships. If they had anyone down here, or if they meant to send anyone down here, there would be shuttles flying around the capital ships or back and forth between the surface. Since there is none of that, I assume they are going to wait until we leave and try and capture us then."

"Why do you think they are willing to just sit and wait?"

"I would like to think after the defeat they suffered, they are scared to come after us. The reality is likely they don't want anyone to know who they are after. With the capital ships out there, most will think this is just a mission against smugglers who are helping the Federation's enemies."

"Will those ships make it harder for you to hire someone to get you off this planet?"

"Probably, but it will won't be impossible. We'll just have to pay a little extra to avoid any Federation entanglements."

"Looks like you are going to have your work cut out for you today at the card games."

"I think I'll manage just fine." The arrogance he was feeling came through in his voice. "Winning the money shouldn't be difficult. Anakin's worried about getting back here with it. He's going to be going along with me, so hopefully he will be able to help me out. This is his home, so he should know the lay of it."

"Watch out for him for me."

"Don't worry, I don't think we're going to have a fight on our hands. If we do, I will use all my skills to protect him."

"That's not exactly what I was worried about. I meant that if you do get in a fight, keep him from lashing out. I didn't bring this up last night because I didn't want to mention it in front of Anakin, but when he tried to kill the slave masters, it put a great deal of fear in me. It wasn't the power he was displaying that concerned me, it was the look on his face. He appeared to completely lose himself and he seemed like a different person. Being raised a slave took a toll on him. I'm not sure even I understand just how much of a toll it was."

"I appreciate you telling me this," Obi-Wan began. "As you should have understood last night, after hearing what Anakin did, I had my concerns about his utilization of the dark side. If I may ask for your assistance, if you want to help Anakin, convince him to come with me. He might be old, but with the power in the Force he has displayed, I think he will be allowed to become a Jedi. If he chooses to join the Order, he will find a structure that will cure him of many of his problems."

"I don't think I can do that," Owen said, feeling bad. "No one knows Anakin better than Beru and I. That would be the best thing for him, to stay with people who love and understand him."

"And what if Anakin himself thinks differently?

"Then he will be free to go," Owen replied. "I have no power to hold him here." Owen turned and went inside, as he had no desire to continue the conversation.

 **...**

Padme woke when the first rays of the suns came in through the window. She got out of bed carefully to avoid waking her sister, and then changed out of her nightclothes. She went downstairs to find Beru busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

With everything that had been going on the previous night, she had never given any consideration to the fact that Beru had needed to make dinner for three times as many people as she was accustomed to. Padme instantly felt bad about the situation and sought to both rectify and apologize for it.

"Hi, Beru." The other woman looked up from her work just long enough to repeat Padme's greeting. "I'm really sorry I didn't get more of a chance to speak with you last night, and I'm even sorrier that we left you to fix dinner all by yourself. I'm just so used to servants doing everything for us, that I never stopped to think someone should have helped you out."

"Think nothing of it," Beru replied, sounding untroubled. "It's just been the three of us so long, that it actually feels nice to have a large number of people to cook for."

"I've been wondering, are you and Owen looking to increase the size of your family any time soon?"

Padme was just looking to be lighthearted and enjoy a pleasant conversation with her, but she soon learned she had apparently said the wrong thing. In an instant, Beru was sobbing softly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I said anything wrong."

"No, don't worry about it. You didn't know any better. I should explain myself."

"No, you don't have to do that at all."

"No, I want to. You might not know much about the lives of slaves here, but for the women, pregnancy can be a problem. Some masters see slave children as investments, while others see them as nothing but a hindrance that will keep their slaves from doing the work they need them to. My master followed the latter philosophy. He took steps to make sure I would never be able to have children, and I must live the rest of my life with the consequence of that. Owen and I will never be able to have a family our own, at least, not one built around children of our own."

The sobs of Beru were almost uncontrollable now. Padme didn't quite know what to say in a situation like this. The only thing she could think of doing was offering the woman a shoulder to cry on. She embraced her and maneuvered Beru's face to rest on her shoulder. The gesture seemed to do the trick, and she calmed down enough to stop crying. With the sobs stopped, the two were able to start talking as they went to work preparing breakfast. They had a heartfelt talk about Beru's problem. Padme didn't have much advice to give, but Beru didn't seem to be seeking any. From the impression Padme got, she just needed another woman to talk to about it for a change.

 **...**

The entire group sat down together to eat breakfast. At the table, Obi-Wan told them about the company they had in orbit. While they were initially scared by the news, they were relieved to hear the Federation didn't appear to be sending anyone down to hunt for them. They knew it might make things a little more difficult in hiring someone to get away, but that seemed minor compared to the other problems they faced.

When breakfast was finished, everyone wished the Jedi luck. He rode in the speeder with Anakin driving. They made their way to Anchorhead, the place where the card game was being held.

As Anakin drove, he tried to give Obi-Wan the lay of the land. He explained the kinds of people he would be playing cards with and tried to explain how Obi-Wan should act around them. Anakin knew it was vital he act as an experienced card player, it would help his opponents believe he was winning from skill, instead of cheating. Obi-Wan didn't seem to be listening. He wasn't outright rejecting what Anakin was telling him, but he did remind him he had the Force to read people.

When the two of them reached the town, they went around to several different shops to sell the arsenal. They didn't want to take them all into one shop at once, as they were afraid the owner would believe they were desperate and would offer them less. It took them a good while to drive around to all the shops, but they had the time. The card games didn't begin until later in the afternoon.

From the moment the two of them walked into the gambling establishment, Anakin could feel they were in trouble. Owen had lent the Jedi some clothes, but they didn't do much to conceal that the man was an outsider. Obi-Wan got nothing but skeptical looks. He earned them, as he wasn't carrying himself or acting like anyone local. Anakin knew once he started winning, those looks were going to intensify. Only, they wouldn't just be looks as he would likely find himself attacked.

Knowing it was going to be a problem for them to get out, Anakin had come prepared. There was a blaster tucked under the tunic he was wearing. He was going to have to stay back with the other spectators and stand guard. While it would just be the two of them against an entire club full of people, he liked their chances. He knew what his power was, he just hoped Obi-Wan was at least the equal to him.

A small part of Anakin was hoping that Obi-Wan would lose. They wouldn't have to face an entire club of angry gamblers if that happened. He knew it would be bad for Padme, but after their conversation last night it didn't sound like being unable to make it to Coruscant would change anything. He liked the idea that she would have to stay on Tatooine longer.

To Anakin's annoyance, Obi-Wan ended up winning one hand after another. As he did, Anakin could feel the anger of everyone growing. Even the spectators seemed to be angered with this man they didn't know coming in and piling up the wins.

As sunset neared, the game had narrowed to just Obi-Wan and one opponent. Anakin knew they were going to have trouble getting out. As the hand played out, Anakin started looking around, developing an escape plan.

Anakin heard a loud cry of anguish coming from the game table. He turned to see Obi-Wan had won the hand. His opponent was distraught, but Obi-Wan was emotionless. He simply smiled as he nodded to the man. He stood and held out his hand for him to shake it, only to have the loser slap it away.

"You did not win fairly!" the loser screamed.

"If you think I was cheating, perhaps you would like to explain how." Anakin nearly screamed out at Obi-Wan. He was doing exactly what Anakin had tried to tell him not to do. He was trying to be diplomatic, thinking if he compelled the man to make a specific accusation, he could make him back down. He didn't understand that here, particulars didn't matter. Everyone believed he cheated, they didn't exactly need proof.

"I don't need to explain how you did it, I just know you couldn't have beat me like you did if you weren't cheating." The crowd in the club started hooting and hollering loudly. A couple people even started moving in Obi-Wan's direction. Anakin reached under his tunic and grabbed his blaster, ready to pull it out when the moment called for it.

"I know I am unfamiliar to many of you." Obi-Wan was trying to talk over the crowd, but not doing a very good job of it. "I can tell that you are skeptical of how I was able to come out of nowhere and beat all of you. I assure you I am an experienced player, who has won tournaments all over the galaxy." Anakin winced as Obi-Wan veered in the wrong direction. This game was not played all over the galaxy. He had explained it before, but Obi-Wan apparently forgot. It was a lie that everyone detected, and now their worst thoughts of him seemed to be confirmed. Anakin tried to push ahead so he could grab Obi-Wan and get him out, but the crowd was closing around the Jedi and Anakin couldn't push his way through.

"Everyone please calm down. You can't deny me my winnings with mere suspicions." The crowd was yelling so loud Anakin could barely hear Obi-Wan. "You need specific allegations."

"Actually, I can deny you your winnings without specific accusations." The voice that was shouting was deep and commanding. It rose above the yells of the crowd. It was the voice of the club owner, a rather large, old alien who walked forward with the aid of a cane. There was a fire in his manner that indicated he was not going to budge from his decision. "I have good suspicion that you were cheating."

Now that the owner had endorsed their suspicions, the crowd appeared emboldened. They started charging at Obi-Wan, who just stood their calmly, looking like he wasn't going to do anything to defend himself. While Anakin believed the Jedi probably had a plan, he didn't trust it to succeed after all the mistakes he had watched him make.

Anakin pulled out his blaster and fired a warning shot at the ceiling. That caught everyone's attention. The people closest to him moved back while everyone else turned to see what he was going to do next. He waved the blaster around as he shouted to them. "Okay. You guys have made your point and are going to keep his money. That is okay, we won't fight anyone on that, you can divide it up as you please. Just let us leave peacefully, and there won't be any trouble."

The crowd around Anakin was looking at him with amusement. They knew they had him outnumbered, and they were going to take advantage of that fact. Anakin was ready for them, as his Force abilities had made him an excellent shot. He whirled around as he saw several men reach for their blasters. He was ready, and fired his blaster at one man after another, shooting the guns they were holding out of their hands. One after another howled in pain over having their hand or arm blown off.

"Stop it!" Anakin heard Obi-Wan yell before the Jedi landed in front of him. He had his lightsaber drawn and waved it around to show he was not afraid to use it. The crowd knew the reputation the Jedi carried, and they were not willing to fight him.

"I am sorry that things came to this." He looked around at the men Anakin had shot to check on their condition. They were all going to need mechanical appendages, but they would survive. "We didn't want this trouble. I am sorry you don't trust me. If you will just give me my winnings, we can be on our way."

"I am the one who makes the decision on that." The large club owner walked to the front of the crowd to face the Jedi, the sound of his cane clinking against the floor. When he was just a few feet from Obi-Wan he stopped and glared at him. "I am not intimidated by you. I know how the Jedi operate. You are not going to do anything to me merely because of money."

The club owner stood his ground, defiant. Obi-Wan shut down his lightsaber when he realized it was over, he had lost. "Come on Anakin, we'll be on our way."

It was dark outside when they exited. The streets were illuminated by the lamps that lined them. They headed right for their speeder. Both men were seething over the actions of the other. They walked briskly to the vehicle, as they were in a hurry to get away before anyone in the club decided to come after them.

"You certainly made a mess of that," Obi-Wan yelled as they both jumped into their seats. Anakin waited until the speeder was started and they were driving away until he replied.

"I made a mess of that. You think I made a mess of that. You were the one who screwed up everything from the beginning. I told you that as an outsider, no one was going to let you walk out of there with your winnings, but you just ignored me. Then I told you how to act, what to say, but you just ignored me there as well. If you had just listened to some of what I told you, we might have been able to get out of there without having to fight, and just maybe, we could have gotten you your money."

"I have been on countless missions around the galaxy, missions where my master and I often knew little about the locals. In all those situations we were able to feel our way through them, and I figured this would be no different."

"Well, I think in this situation, when you had someone to tell you about the locals, you should have listened to them. Instead, you ignored me, and look what happened."

"I didn't listen to you not because I didn't trust anything you were saying, but because as a Jedi, I have my own way of working. I was trying to be diplomatic. I know it didn't work at first, but if I had had a chance to talk more, and fully make my case, I think I could have gotten out of there with our money. Instead, you had to pull your blaster out like a brute and threaten everyone. All that resulted from your antics was a lot of lost limbs."

"I don't see why you would have a problem with that. You carry around a lightsaber. Isn't it designed for chopping off limbs."

"It is not designed for chopping off limbs, it is a civilized weapon. Its primary use is for defense. If anyone had fired at us, I would have used it to block their shots. It can be a powerful offensive weapon, but Jedi don't use it that way, and everyone knows that. Look back at what happened in the club. When you pulled your blaster out, everyone pulled out there's as well to fire it at you before you could fire at them. None of that happened with my lightsaber. They knew I only had it out for defense. They felt they didn't have to strike first, and that allowed me to calm the situation.

A thought occurred to Obi-Wan as he looked over at Anakin to see if he had anything to say. "I happen to have a spare lightsaber on me. I could teach you some things when we get back about the way to use it."

"I would like that. We are going to have much more pressing concerns when we return, though. We must tell everyone that we don't have any money. We spent everything we earned selling off the arsenal. We are going to have to find another way to get your money, when there is nothing left to sell."

The rest of the way back, they discussed how they should break the news to the queen. Obi-Wan insisted he should take all the responsibility for their failure. Anakin protested, but he would hear none of it. Obi-Wan was determined to accept all the responsibility.

They walked into the house to find everyone patiently waiting for them. They had wanted to break the news to the queen slowly, but she realized from the looks on their faces that things had not gone as planned. Neither one had felt the need to put on a brave face.

"You guys didn't get the money, did you?" Because of the disappointment, she could barely get the words out.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to speak, but Anakin answered first. "It was all my fault, Your Highness." He bowed his head slightly in shame. Obi-Wan was too stunned by what Anakin was doing to break in and give his story. "The owner of the establishment was giving us trouble and refusing to give the Jedi his money. The crowd was turning against him as well. He was trying to use Jedi techniques to get your money, but I didn't understand what he was trying to do. I was dumb and tried to scare everyone with my blaster so we could at least get away. The Jedi acted and got us out without a scratch, but the money was lost. I apologize profusely for my error. I know how much it has cost you."

Padme looked between Anakin and Obi-Wan, giving the Jedi a piercing glare. In contrast, she gave Anakin a rather pleasant expression. "So, Anakin, it looks like you were correct about the way the Jedi would be treated as an outsider."

"Um, yes, I was." Anakin seemed to have trouble answering. "The Jedi likely would have been able to see the situation through if I had given him the chance, however, just as he said he would."

Padme looked skeptical of what Anakin was telling her. "There is no use getting upset over what occurred. Right now, we must focus on what our next step is going to be, if there is one." Padme's tone of voice conveyed her utter despair. Her voice had cracked, as if she was going to cry. She fought back the tears, as it was unbecoming of a royal to cry in front of others.

"If I may make a suggestion, this planet is full of opportunities for making money." Anakin looked around at everyone to see if they were interested in hearing what he had to say. Everyone seemed to perk up to find out what he was going to suggest. "The problem for you might be that most of the jobs will require some moral compromise on your part." No one appreciated hearing that last part.

"What kinds of moral compromises are we talking about?" Padme asked.

"It all depends on what jobs will actually pay the high amount you need. There's a good chance there are bounties out there which would pay what you need. Local bounties, so the people will be here. The problem for you will be that collecting the bounty will require handing the person over to some rather unsavory characters."

Almost everyone let out a sigh as they realized they likely would not want to do that. Anakin persisted, wanting to help as much as he could and hoping he could convince them this was what they needed. "Most of these bounties would be for people who owe someone money, such as smugglers who were forced to unload their cargo. The bounty is just put out so the loaner can try and collect from his debtor."

"I think this is a possibility we must explore," Padme said. "How do we find out what bounties are out there?"

"I could head over to Mos Eisley tomorrow and see what I can find."

"It seems like you are doing so much for us already. I don't want you to go through so much trouble. One of us could go."

"With all due respect, Your Highness, I am the only one here who understands the lay of the land, so to speak. I know where to inquire about any outstanding bounties, and I can do so without raising any suspicions." Anakin glanced over at Obi-Wan several times as he spoke. The Jedi understood the implicit message. He was still thinking Obi-Wan was responsible for everything that happened that day, and he knew if he went out alone, he could avoid any problems.

"Okay, Anakin. Find out what bounties are out there. I think you have a good understanding over what we are willing to accept and what we are not. Come back to us with anything that seems promising."

"As you wish, Your Highness." Anakin kept up the formality by bowing to her. Some of the others found it amusing. With the twin suns of the planet long since set, everyone dispersed to go to sleep.

 **...**

Anakin was getting the couch ready to sleep when he felt the presence of someone. The sensation was odd, there was something about it he had never experienced before. He turned in the direction where he felt the presence and saw Obi-Wan standing in the doorway.

"Did you reach out to me, with the Force?"

"Yes, I did, and you reached back to me."

"I did?"

"Apparently without realizing it." Obi-Wan started walking towards Anakin. "You must be very strong in the Force to be able to channel it like that without even realizing it. Your power is instinctive in a manner I have never seen."

"Do you have any idea why I have such instinctive abilities?"

"No, other than to theorize the Force has a great destiny in store for you." Anakin flinched over the Jedi's words. Obi-Wan caught it and wanted to know why the man had the reaction he did.

"Does the thought that the Force has a great destiny set for you scare you?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No, it's not that. It just, clarifies something for me, that's all."

"Do you mind if I ask what it clarifies for you."

Anakin was hesitant to reply, as he knew what he was about to reveal would sound too incredible for even a Jedi to believe. "This is something I have never liked to talk about, because it has always made my mother look crazy. Well, it probably makes her look more like a horrid liar than anything else. From the moment she became pregnant with me, she claimed that I had no father. I'm not sure how much she said it outright, she never had to, everyone knew she meant that I was a child of the Force, conceived by it without a man for reasons neither she nor anyone else would ever understand."

"Did she have any reason to lie about something like that?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Of course, she did," Anakin replied. "A pregnant slave can cause all kinds of problems. There isn't much in the way of law out here. One law that we do have is that any child born to one slave parent, and one free parent, is free themselves. We lived in a city with an active spaceport, it's possible my father was someone who came in here, maybe regularly, maybe not. The possibility was enough for her to lie to Watto so he wouldn't have to worry about some man coming along to claim me. Besides that, as you heard, romance between two slaves can be a problem. If my father was a slave my mother wasn't supposed to be fraternizing with, then there could have been problems in admitting who my father was. While it was unbelievable, what my mother said appeared to successfully deflect any questions about who my father was."

Obi-Wan stroked his chin as he thought deeply about what Anakin had told him. "I know your mother died when you were young, but from what you know about her, do you truly believe she was lying. What when you realized you were Force sensitive? Did that make you think your mother must have been telling the truth?"

"I thought my mother just got lucky that I ended up Force sensitive."

"But your abilities are much greater than anyone else who is Force sensitive."

"I never knew that growing up," Anakin replied. "Out here it is well-known the Jedi don't bother to come and look for future Jedi. We don't know what it is like for those they don't take. I thought the abilities I had were normal for anyone Force sensitive who never received Jedi training."

"Well, they're not. The strength you could have in the Force if you were to channel it properly is. . .unimaginable."

"And let me guess, you think you are just the person to train me to do it."

"Well, I'm the only one you have to do it now."

"Is there any reason to be in such a hurry?"

"Yes, I get the feeling we are going to have to work together again over the next couple days, and I don't want a repeat of what happened today. I told you on the way back that I would give you the spare lightsaber I had." Obi-Wan pulled it out from under his robes and handed it over. "I think it might be good to start your training with this."

Apprehensively, Anakin took the weapon from the Jedi and held it in his hand. "Is it okay if I light it?"

"Yes, activate it, go ahead." Despite his enthusiastic reply, Obi-Wan leaned back, not entirely trustful of how Anakin would handle it.

After taking a deep breath, Anakin activated it. He moved back in apprehension as the blade of light grew out from the hilt. When it was fully extended, he admired it as he waved it around. Slowly at first, then faster to get a better feel for how he might wield it in a fight. The whole time he did this, it was emitting a soft hum that was soothing to his ears.

"Is this how all training starts for the Jedi, by giving them a lightsaber?"

"Jedi actually get a good amount of training before they ever wield a lightsaber. As young children, we are giving years of basic training in how to channel and utilize the Force. Making our own lightsaber is kind of a coming of age ceremony for us. After we make it, we have a year of training with it before we are taken on as Padawans and sent into the field with our Jedi Knight masters."

"So, if everybody has to make their own, how did you end up with a spare?" Here Obi-Wan got very apprehensive, even fearful. "The truth is, that one used to belong to my former master. He died on Naboo, right before we escaped. Worst of all, he died because of a mistake I made. He had to make a move to defend me after I failed to do so. It cost him his life, and I am going to have to carry that with me the rest of mine."

Anakin could guess Obi-Wan wanted to train him to avoid a repeat of what had happened with his master. "Okay, so what's the first step for me to learn how to use this?"

"I was thinking the same first step every Jedi starts with, at least, as close to it as we can get. Normally, we have floating balls which can fire weak blasts at you that will allow you to learn to use the lightsaber and the Force to block them. I don't have any such thing on me, so I think the only thing we could do would be to get a blaster, set it to its lowest setting, and have you to learn to block those blasts."

"That doesn't exactly sound very appealing." Anakin shut down the lightsaber. The silence that broke out with the loss of the saber's hum seemed eerie. "You know, it's pretty late for tonight, why don't we see if we can pick this up tomorrow."

"That's probably a good idea," Obi-Wan said with a nod of his head before he left him alone.

As Anakin laid out on the couch, his mind was running a mile a minute. He was thinking about the anxiousness Obi-Wan appeared to have for giving him some Jedi training. He wondered how far Obi-Wan wanted to take it. Was he willing to take him away and train him as a Jedi?

The thought of leaving Tatooine and becoming a Jedi both thrilled and scared him. All the possibilities of what it meant ran through his head. If he hadn't been so tired from the lack of sleep the previous night, the thoughts in his head would have kept him up all night.

 **...**

Anakin got up early the next morning and was gone before anyone else woke. He knew he had a long day ahead of him and he wanted to get a head start on it.

While he was gone, the others enjoyed a lighthearted day. After everything they had been through, they needed the day of levity.

Their situation came crashing back to them when Anakin finally returned shortly after they finished dinner. The excitement he was showing when he came in boosted the morale of everyone, as they saw it as a sign he had good news.

"I found a bounty which I think will work for us. We would have to capture another bounty hunter. His name is Jango Fett, he's a Mandalorian, and Jabba the Hutt wants him captured to settle a score with him. Jango had gone after a smuggler that Jabba had put a large bounty on. The bounty was for bringing the smuggler back alive, so Jabba could take his revenge on him. Fett ended up killing the guy, and it didn't sit well with the Hutt. He wants Jango captured so they can settle the debt."

"So, we just have to capture a murderous bounty hunter," Padme pointed out before glaring at Obi-Wan. "That shouldn't run afoul of any Jedi codes, should it?"

"Given the collection of circumstances we are facing, no."

"Good, then if we are going to go after him, it won't be hard for us to find him," Anakin said. "I talked to one of Jabba's underlings. They think he is going to be in Mos Espa tomorrow."

"The ruins of our old home." Everyone turned in Owen's direction. He seemed surprised he had gotten everyone's attention. "In case the rest of you didn't know, after we took everything from the slave masters, they abandoned the city. The slaves tried to run things, but were unable to, and soon left as well. The city became temporary housing for those folks too unsavory to stay anywhere else on this planet."

"And bounty hunters would be one of those unsavory types?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Correct."

"Do you have a plan for finding and capturing the bounty hunter?" Padme asked the Jedi. "I am sure both Olie and Tarsals will be willing to go along."

"I think it would be best if it was just Anakin and me. The smaller the party, the more inconspicuous we will be."

"Are you okay with this?" Padme asked Anakin. "I don't want you to feel compelled to go."

"No, I want to. I know the Jedi will need me because of my familiarity with the city."

"Are you going to be okay helping him capture the bounty hunter?" Padme asked.

"Yes, I think so." For a moment, Anakin had lost his usual bravado. "Last night, the Jedi offered me a crash course in Jedi training so that we would be better able to work together. It looks like we should get started on that."

 **...**

"You're my brother, and I love you Anakin," the grin on Owen's face was sly as he stared at his stepbrother, a blaster in his hand. "But this is for your own good, and I hope you don't mind me saying I am really going to enjoy this."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Anakin held his lightsaber up straight as he glared at the blaster in his stepbrother's hand.

After double-checking to make sure the blaster was on its lowest setting, Owen started firing. He was fast, and much more accurate than anyone anticipated. Obi-Wan almost jumped in and told him to stop, as he was worried Anakin was going to get hurt. He refrained when he saw that Anakin was expertly blocking each blast aimed at him.

Everyone could see Owen was frustrated that not a single blast had gotten through Anakin's defenses. He went from holding the blaster with one hand, to holding it with two. It didn't change a thing.

Obi-Wan was impressed with what he was seeing. At least, until he reached out with the Force and felt how Anakin was doing it. He had a specific connection with his brother that was allowing him to anticipate his attacks and block them accordingly.

"Blast it!" Angry over his failure to land a hit, Owen threw the blaster to the ground. Anakin smiled back at his brother as he deactivated his lightsaber.

"What did you think of that?" Anakin was smiling from ear-to-ear as he looked at Obi-Wan, waiting for praise over the good job he felt he had done.

"That wasn't quite what I had in mind." Anakin was in absolute shock over what he was hearing. Everyone else was a bit puzzled as well. "You share a certain connection with your brother through the Force. Its instinctive and has likely been built up over all the years you have lived together, so you don't notice it. I wasn't expecting it because it's not something that is all that common, but your natural abilities led it to develop without you even trying." Anakin started smiling again over the reference to his natural abilities. "Your connection to him is allowing you to anticipate the attacks, which is not quite what I had in mind. With the proper connection to the Force, you should be able to use your danger sense to block the attacks instead of your connection to a particular person. We'll need to find someone else to fire at you."

Obi-Wan started scanning the room, wondering who he should ask. "Why don't you ask Princess Soala," Tarsals suggested. "I've been training her to fire a blaster, and she could use the practice." Obi-Wan was skeptical she would be willing to fire it right at Anakin. "She had quite the killer instinct, she won't be too easy for him," Tarsals added.

"Okay, go ahead." Soala looked joyous as she picked up the blaster. She held it out in front of her as she gazed down the barrel at Anakin. He activated the lightsaber and waited for the shots to come. Once Soala had the blaster lined up to her liking, she started firing. Anakin blocked the first two bolts before he got hit by the third. He jumped up as he howled in pain.

"Come on, let's keep going." Soala had the blaster still pointed right at him and was not willing to show him any sympathy. Anakin got back in position. When Soala started firing again, Anakin once again blocked two shots before taking a hit. He was already showing some frustration.

"Don't get upset," Obi-Wan instructed. "Your best chance of channeling the Force properly is to remain calm. Reach out with the Force and feel everything around you. The Force will tell you where the danger is coming from, you just have to be in tune to notice it."

Anakin tried to do what Obi-Wan told him but couldn't. He was frustrated, as he felt he would have done better in this exercise by simply relying on his instincts. Instead, he was turning them off and thinking too much, trying to concentrate on everything Obi-Wan had told him. He was doing it because he thought it would provide him with the attunement to the Force he sought, but he was starting to think it might not be so bad to just rely on his instincts after all.

Soala went back to firing at Anakin, and this time he blocked a few more shots before he was hit. He felt angry when he was hit, and this time, he sought to use that anger to channel the Force. He went back to holding his lightsaber in front of him. Soala started firing at him again, and this time he blocked every shot with ease. Soala responded by firing more rapidly as well as altering the shots to a greater extent. The way she handled the blaster was amazing. She was able to change the direction of her shots expertly with just short flicks of her wrist. She also seemed to know just how to lead Anakin in one direction with one shot, then make him move the lightsaber across his body to blast the next one.

Everyone from Naboo marveled at what they were seeing with Soala. Somehow, she had become an expert marksman. Anakin showed a remarkable amount of skill in blocking her shots, but eventually, one got through and hit him. As Soala was firing so quickly, Anakin got hit by two more shots before she finally stopped.

"I think that's enough," Obi-Wan said as he stepped in and grabbed the blaster away from Soala. Soala went and stood back with the others.

"Where did you learn to fire like that?" Tarsals voice conveyed his astonishment at Soala.

"I had some friends at boarding school I went shooting with." Soala appeared embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"What kinds of friends?" Padme asked.

"Friends who are good at shooting." It was clear Soala didn't want to talk, so Padme just let the question drop.

While the two sisters were having their conversation, Obi-Wan was admonishing Anakin. He was standing right in front of him so he could talk low. "I could feel you using your anger to channel the Force."

"It worked, didn't it." Anakin kept his voice low as well, so the others wouldn't hear.

"The dark side is not something you should be flirting with. I was hoping you would avoid it yourself, but it appears we should move in another direction. Why don't we have you try and reach out and channel the Force before you need to start using it. I will talk you through it. First, close your eyes and push out every feeling of fear or anger you have."

Anakin closed his eyes and did as Obi-Wan requested. He did his best to calm himself, but had trouble pushing away his annoyance at the Jedi. He wondered if annoyance led to the dark side in the same manner anger did.

"Now, keep your eyes closed, but think about the people who are in this room. Use your sense in the Force to feel them."

Anakin wasn't sure how he was exactly supposed to do what Obi-Wan was asking. He could feel the Force, and he concentrated on that feeling while at the same time thinking about who was in the room with him. All of a sudden, he was experiencing a bunch of feelings that were not his own. It startled him and he opened his eyes as he stumbled backwards.

"It's quite the sensation, isn't it?" Obi-Wan was giving Anakin a big smile. "I think you should be in tune with the Force properly now. I want you to channel the Force to block the shots. Don't reach out so much that you connect with them. I don't think that will be a problem though. Owen was simply a special case."

When Obi-Wan turned back to the others, he looked directly at Padme. "I take it Tarsals trained you to use a blaster like he did with Soala."

"Yes, he did, although I must confess, I am not close to being the crack shot my sister is." Padme gave her sister a sideways glance as she smirked before she took the blaster from Obi-Wan. Standing across from Anakin, she took a deep breath before she lifted up the blaster and held it in front of her with both hands. She looked down the barrel of the gun and into Anakin's eyes.

Anakin stared back at her, looking deeply into her eyes. The connection the two had experienced before formed once again, and they were able to feel each other's emotions and read their thoughts. Anakin could feel the concern and worry Padme had for him. She was thinking about tomorrow and worrying that harm would come to him. If it did, she would have felt responsible.

"Ready," she said. It took Anakin a moment to realize she had spoken the word, and he was not merely reading her thoughts.

"Ready," he replied. She started firing, and through his connection with her, he was able to block each one. It was just what had happened with Owen.

It didn't take long for Padme's arms to get tired having to keep the blaster held up. "I think I need a rest," she said as she stopped firing and lowered the weapon.

"I think that will probably be enough," Obi-Wan said. He turned his attention to Anakin, looking extremely happy. "That was very good. You blocked every shot, and it was not because you were reading Padme. If you're happy with that, then we can stop and turn in for the night."

For a moment, Anakin was horribly confused. He was sure Obi-Wan would have felt the connection he had with Padme. It appeared he didn't, and Anakin couldn't understand why. There was something different about his connection with Padme that made Obi-Wan unable to sense it.

"I've had enough," Padme said as she went to join the others. "If Anakin wants to continue, someone else will have to take over for me."

"I think that was enough." Anakin looked at Obi-Wan as he talked. "Thank you for the instruction. I learned a lot, but I don't think we are going to be able to do enough for me to feel comfortable with the lightsaber by tomorrow. I'll just rely on my trusty old blaster."

"I can understand, but why don't you at least take it along, it might come in handy." There was disappointment in Obi-Wan's voice. "It probably would be best if we turned in for the night to make sure we are rested for tomorrow."


	4. An Army of Clones

**Chapter 4: An Army of Clones**

Everyone in the Lars homestead was tense in the morning. There was much riding on the events of that day. Anakin and Obi-Wan were traveling to the deserted city of Mos Espa to try and find the bounty hunter Jango Fett. If they could do so, and capture him, they could turn him over to Jabba and collect the bounty the Hutt had for him. That would give them the money they needed to travel to Coruscant. If the two failed, they were likely going to be stuck on Tatooine a long time. Padme shuddered to think how the Neimoidian Federation would use that time to consolidate their conquest of her planet.

Before Anakin and Obi-Wan left, Padme gave Anakin a tight hug. Their bodies touching was enough to form their connection. Padme could feel Anakin was scared that he might let her down by failing to capture Fett. There was a glimmer of hope he was feeling, as he wouldn't have minded if she had to stay with him longer. Anakin could feel Padme was scared something might happen to him on the mission. Her fear came from more than just feeling responsibility over the situation, she had personal feelings for him.

In his mind, Anakin was telling Padme he was going to be okay. He told her to trust in the Force. It had seen him through much, and it would see him through this. After they broke the embrace, Padme wished him and Obi-Wan good luck.

"May the Force be with you," Padme said. Her words were repeated by almost everyone else as the two got into the speeder. Anakin and Obi-Wan were silent as they drove away, but Artoo, who was tied to the back, beeped a good-bye to everyone.

 **...**

As Obi-Wan and Anakin drove to Mos Espa, the view never changed for them. It was one identical sand dune after another, seemingly to infinity. The monotony almost caused Obi-Wan to fall asleep, making him thankful Anakin was driving. Being used to the landscape, Anakin could navigate it without getting drowsy.

Given the long journey, and the fact they were mostly alone, Obi-Wan figured it might be a good time to talk with Anakin about his own life as a Jedi to sell the young man on joining the Order. Not wanting to bring up the subject out of the blue, he started by telling Anakin how Qui-Gon had died. It was a subject he had avoided the night before, but it was a story Anakin needed to hear and he needed to tell. Obi-Wan wanted to give Anakin the full picture of what it meant to be a Jedi. He was trying to show Anakin the comradery the Jedi had for each other, figuring that would be most enticing to the man. Obi-Wan spoke extensively about his time with Qui-Gon, working backwards from the mission on Naboo and getting to the mission on Ord Mantell by the time they reached Mos Espa.

As they drove through Mos Espa, Anakin did his best to avoid looking around, as he didn't want to see anything that would remind him of his former life there. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, was looking around and taking in as much as he could. He wanted to get the lay of the land, but his mind kept wondering what Anakin must have done almost a decade ago to cause the city to empty out. While he knew the emancipation of the slaves destroyed the local economy, there had to be something else that caused everyone else to abandon their homes. He wondered if the all the slave masters fled because they were afraid Anakin was going to return and finish what he had started that night.

As they neared the center of the city, Obi-Wan started to pick up the Force presence of others. They drove past a lone building that seemed to have people inside. "That's the local watering hole," Anakin explained. "The one place where everyone congregates. The only people who come here are offworlders, and they mostly stay in their ships. Coming here to drink is the only socializing they do."

"Well, that might make this much easier than I thought." Obi-Wan stepped out of the speeder with Anakin following him. The two of them untied Artoo and put him on the ground.

"Why don't you let me take the lead on this," Obi-Wan said to Anakin as they walked to the establishment.

"Gladly, I'm anxious to learn how the Jedi operate," Anakin replied.

As they walked, Obi-Wan checked to make sure he still had the tranquilizers he had packed. They were discreetly hidden under his Jedi robes. He was not going out in disguise today as he figured the intimidation factor from being a Jedi would greatly aide them.

When the two walked inside, all eyes were on them. The place appeared to be full of bounty hunters. "There he is!" someone screamed. Obi-Wan's eyes darted around the room as he saw one patron after another pulling out a weapon. He had just seconds to make a decision, and he figured that it was not wise to try and take on an entire room of bounty hunters.

"Run!" he screamed to Anakin. He could feel that Anakin was hesitant to flee, but after Obi-Wan ran past him, he figured he didn't have any choice other than to follow. The two of them made it through the door right before it got torn apart by the volley of blaster bolts.

When they ran out the door, they failed to notice Artoo. All the bounty hunters ran past him as well. Artoo tried to zap them, but they were too fast for him to do anything. He wanted to help and rolled away to try and find some way to do so.

After exiting the bar, Obi-Wan and Anakin kept running without breaking stride. They looked back just enough to see that as they expected, the bounty hunters were continuing the pursuit.

"It looks like people remember what you did here."

"Maybe it wasn't me they recognized," Anakin suggested.

"You think they might have been talking about me?"

"Yes." Anakin didn't say any more as he was concentrating on trying to find shelter where they could hide from their pursuers. "Follow me," he said as he turned into an alley. Obi-Wan followed him, and immediately knew they had made a mistake. The alley they were running down looked like it terminated in a dead end. They couldn't turn back, though, as their pursuers were too close on their heels. There were abutments near the end that looked like they might provide them with some cover at least.

"Good job," Obi-Wan yelled to Anakin. "You picked an alley that's a dead end."

"Those abutments might be hiding other alleys we can turn down," Anakin countered. When they reached them, they each turned in opposite directions, only to find themselves staring at a wall. They were trapped with no way out. They pressed their backs to the walls as the laser blasts passed them by and started tearing apart the wall at the end of the alley. It didn't take long for all the blaster bolts to tear a gaping hole in the wall. Realizing that continued fire was pointless, the hunters silenced their weapons.

"Why did they stop firing?" Anakin asked.

"They might be trying a new tactic." Obi-Wan looked around to see if they might be trying to attack from the roofs.

"Okay Jedi, we are simply after the bounty that's been placed on you. Your Neimoidian friends desperately want you. If you just come out, we can take you alive."

"I should have known those ships out there would not just be waiting for us to leave. They must have put out a bounty on me."

"I didn't hear anything about a bounty on a Jedi yesterday," Anakin pointed out.

"They wouldn't have announced it locally, for that very reason. It only would have gone out to bounty hunters in nearby systems."

"Does that mean there is one on the queen as well."

"Most likely not. Putting a bounty on her would have been announcing to the entire galaxy she was here, which the Federation doesn't want. A bounty on a Jedi wouldn't raise such red flags. Once they captured me, they must have been hoping I could lead them to the royals."

"Or that the royals would be easier to catch without you around." Anakin peaked his head around the abutment but couldn't see anything. "That bounty must be the reason Jango Fett is here. I wonder if he is with the group. I didn't get a good enough look to see if that was the case."

"I did get a good look at everyone. There was no one in Mandalorian armor."

"Really doesn't matter if he's around," Anakin said. "It doesn't look like we are in any position to capture him."

"We are just going to have to put ourselves in a position to do so, then."

Anakin looked over at Obi-wan and smirked. "I was hoping you would say that. Do you have a plan for getting us out of here?"

"Yes. Remember the story I told you about how we defeated the battle droids on Naboo?"

"Yes, I remember, you just told it to me," Anakin replied.

"Good, just do your part." Obi-Wan said as he emerged from the abutment with his hands up. "Don't shoot," he yelled. Anakin wished he would have given him some more instruction before they started. He simply watched as Obi-Wan walked out of the alley, wondering when he should try and disappear.

Obi-Wan stayed unmoved as one of the bounty hunters removed his lightsaber from his belt. "What makes you think you should get that?" one of the hunters snarled behind him, questioning the one who had the lightsaber. Obi-Wan had to suppress a smile. He wondered how much they would be able to cooperate. The more they fought and distrusted each other, the better chance for them to be distracted when Anakin attacked.

Obi-Wan turned his head to see who had taken his lightsaber. In the process of doing so, he took a quick glance at Anakin to see he was making his escape through the hole that had been blasted into the back wall. Obi-Wan was pleased to see a rather smallish Rodian had taking his lightsaber. He knew he would easily be able to call it away from him when the time came.

"Get moving," a deep voice yelled to him. He turned his head back around as someone gave him a push forward. He started walking, and the circle of bounty hunters moved with him.

"You know, if all of you are just going to be following my lead, then you should really tell me where we are going."

"We're just going back to the bar, so we can call the Federation and have them come get you."

"And then what, you're actually going to divide up the bounty among the what, ten of you."

"It will be a pretty good pay day for just an hour or so of work." Obi-Wan understood bounty hunters, and he knew they would never split the money evenly. They would fight it out once they got it, not that they were going to receive anything. He was confident Anakin would come through. He was reaching out to him and sensed that he was coming up from behind. He could sense the anxiety in Anakin rise as he readied himself. When that anxiety turned to fear, he knew something had gone wrong. Anakin's fear was making it hard for him to read, so he tried to discreetly look back and see what was happening.

Obi-Wan heard the thermal detonator rolling along the ground before he saw it. "Everybody stand still!" The voice Obi-Wan heard sounded like it had been filtered through a helmet. He could guess who it was, and looked back to see that sure enough, Jango Fett, in his Mandalorian Armor, was the one who had yelled at them. Anakin was standing in front of him, with Fett holding a blaster against his back. Fett's other hand was holding a switch raised over his head.

"Fellow bounty hunters, if any of you make one wrong move, I will activate the detonators at your feet. "Jedi, if you don't come out here, I'll disintegrate your friend."

"Looks like I don't have any choice." Obi-Wan tried to be snarky in order to exude confidence. The truth was he had no idea how they were going to get out of the situation, but he figured he could think of something. He had gotten out of tighter spots than this. Of course, he had always had Qui-Gon with him. He had picked up a lot of insight from him and figured he could call on that to save them.

Obi-Wan walked slowly out of the circle of bounty hunters, his eyes on Fett. While his eyes were hidden behind the helmet, the small movements he made with his head indicated he was looking between Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the group of bounty hunters. It was a lot to keep track of, and Obi-Wan figured if he watched him closely enough, he could find just the right moment to attack.

Obi-Wan noticed with the way they were lined up, Fett didn't have much difficulty keeping them all in sight. Wanting to throw him off, he walked forward the short distance he needed to so that he was behind Fett. It made it much harder for Fett to keep them all in his sights, as he had to completely turn his head around to keep his eye on Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan's gaze was on the ground in front of him, where Anakin's blaster was laying. Fett must have disarmed him and thrown it to the ground. While Obi-Wan didn't like using such an uncivilized weapon, he knew if he could call it to him, he could threaten Fett with it.

"Get back in front of me," he yelled to Obi-Wan. "If you don't, your friend dies." Obi-Wan sighed as he realized his plan had been bad. He had been hoping to find an opening to attack, but he knew Fett was too good to ever give him one. Just as he started walking in front of Jango, he felt an invisible pulse fling him off the ground and up into the air.

Obi-Wan hit the ground a good distance away. He heard someone land near him, and the muffled grunt that came from the man indicated it was Jango Fett. He did his best to gather himself so he could see what was happening. What he caught sight of was Anakin utilizing his power in the Force. The man was a good distance away, but Obi-Wan could see he had Qui-Gon's lightsaber in his hand. The light of the blade whirled around Anakin as he charged at the bounty hunters laying stunned on the ground. Their screams and cries rang out as Anakin sliced through one after another.

Obi-Wan sensed danger just a moment before he felt Jango Fett jump on top of him. He called on the Force to give him strength, but found himself unable to take the offensive initiative against the bounty hunter. Fett's armor was loaded with numerous tricks, and Obi-Wan had to evade one after another.

Just when Obi-Wan was beginning to wonder how long he could hold out against the bounty hunter, Fett started gurgling as he had trouble breathing. In terror, Obi-wan looked back to Anakin. He was standing in the middle of the dead bounty hunters, one of his hands was raised and clenched in a fist.

"Anakin! Stop it!" Obi-Wan became terrified when he looked into Anakin's eyes. They exuded anger and fury. He looked back to Fett, who had taken off his helmet in the vain hope that it would help him breathe.

"Let him go, Anakin," Obi-Wan repeated. Anakin said nothing as he dropped his fist and ended the strangulation of the man.

"That wasn't very smart of you," the Jedi said to Anakin as he walked up to them. "You know Jabba wants him alive."

"I was never going to kill him." Anakin's snarling tone indicated he didn't like the way Obi-Wan had admonished him. "I just wanted to make sure he understood the consequences he would face if he disobeyed us. I don't want him giving us any trouble before we give him to Jabba."

"You don't have to hand me over to Jabba," Jango pleaded. He was still overcoming the near strangulation and had difficulty speaking. "I am extremely valuable to a Republic senator. If you contact him, I am sure he will give you more than you could get from Jabba."

"And just who is this senator?" Anakin asked. While he figured the bounty hunter was lying, he saw no harm in at least humoring the man.

"Senator Palpatine." When Anakin heard the name, he was immediately skeptical. It was the senator Padme had told him about, the one who had spent years sounding the alarm about the dangers of the warlords. He was wondering why he would be mixed up with bounty hunters.

"Why are you so important to him?" Anakin asked. Fett looked like he didn't want to reply. He looked between Obi-Wan and Anakin.

"Do you even know the senator? Are you just trying to find a way to delay your delivery to Jabba?" Anakin was incensed. Fett was terrified Anakin would start strangling him again and rushed to reveal the truth.

"I'm the template for Palpatine's clone army."

"Clone army?" Anakin asked.

"Yes, a clone army. A very good one." Jango smirked as he talked. While Anakin was skeptical, Obi-Wan knew there was some plausibility to it.

"Tell us more," Obi-Wan commanded.

"Palpatine has known for years that a major galactic war was going to break out. Ten years ago, he hired me to be the template to his clone army so that if war ever came, he would have an army to provide to the Republic."

"And this was all done on Kamino, Palpatine's home?" Obi-wan asked.

"Yes, on Kamino. I take it you know something about the world. While Palpatine has made a name for himself as their senator, the planet itself is unknown and rarely gets visitors. Very few people ever take advantage of the expert cloning abilities the natives possess. Palpatine took advantage of them himself, growing and training a large army in the underwater cities."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Anakin asked. He was excited by the prospect of a clone army. It seemed like it was exactly what Padme was looking for, provided Palpatine would be willing to let them use it. Despite wanting to believe it was real, he was still skeptical. He knew Fett had needed to come up with something to make himself sound important to someone. While claiming to be the template for a clone army was an odd lie, it also seemed too grandiose to be true. The galaxy was big, but not so big that a sizeable army could be easily hidden.

"I can prove I'm telling the truth." Fett was trying his best to speak in a reassuring tone. "As part of my payment, I requested a clone of my own, one I could raise as a son. He's on my ship right now. I can take you there, so you can test our genomes, and see they are identical."

"Well, show us the way," Anakin commanded.

Obi-Wan didn't approve of Anakin's trust of Jango. He knew the man could easily be planning an ambush when they reached his ship. He didn't do anything to stop him, as he accepted the fact they had to find out the truth. He understood what Anakin was thinking with this army.

 **...**

They reached the shipyard to find it full. Obi-Wan could guess most of the ships belonged to the bounty hunters Anakin killed. Whoever was set to salvage these ships was in for a huge windfall. Obi-Wan couldn't help but think if they could take possession of the ships themselves, they could sell them for the money they needed. He knew on a planet such as this, scavengers were already learning what had happened to the bounty hunters and would be by shortly to plunder the shipyard.

"Which one is yours?" Anakin demanded of Fett. When Obi-Wan glanced over at Anakin, he could see his eyes were darting around. Despite his earlier enthusiasm, he now seemed skeptical of what they were walking into.

Obi-Wan sensed the coming attack the mere moment before it happened. He yelled to Anakin to take cover right as the laser blasts hit the ground in front of them. He hadn't seen where they had come from, but he could guess it was from Jango's ship. His son was firing at them but being careful not to get too close to his father. He was merely creating a distraction that would allow Jango to run away. The bounty hunter tried to make a break for it, but only managed to take a few steps. Anakin recovered from the attack quickly and was able to Force choke him again. Fett collapsed, gasping for air.

Anakin ran up to Jango, knowing his son would never fire on the two of them. Obi-Wan watched everything, feeling the dark side emanating from Anakin. He did nothing to stop him, as he felt they needed Anakin to do what he was doing in order to survive. He was in a situation eerily similar to the one that had cost Qui-Gon his life just two day earlier. He did not want to see another partner die.

"Come out and show yourself?" Anakin yelled. He was periodically releasing his choke hold on Fett so he could take in a gasp of air from time to time. Obi-Wan heard the thrusters of a ship fire up nearby. He looked in that direction to see a discus-shaped ship lift off the ground. It flew away from the other ships, so it had a clear view of Anakin and Jango. Its guns were raised so they were pointed at the two. Obi-Wan noted the boy was showing quite a lot of gumption.

"Lower your guns!" Anakin yelled to the boy.

When Obi-Wan heard laser blasts, he initially thought it was Fett's ship firing, even though he didn't see it doing so. He only realized they were coming from another ship when he saw the thrusters of Fett's ship explode. With no propulsion, the ship fell to the ground with its tip burying itself into the sand before it keeled over.

When the ship that had fired came into view, the blue dome in the astromech pit revealed who had saved them. "Thanks, Artoo," Obi-Wan said. The droid started to rise from the pit, but Obi-Wan held out a hand to indicate he should stop. He looked over to Fett's downed ship to see a young boy standing on top of it. It was apparently Jango's clone son, and while Obi-Wan could see the resemblance, there was no way to know if he was an actual clone until they checked the genomes.

"You can run the tests you need on my ship," Jango told them. "I've got everything you need."

Given everything that had just occurred, Obi-Wan was not willing to trust the man in any capacity. "I think we'll try and find another way to do it. We should go back and discuss with the others what we should do." Obi-Wan took out the cuffs he had brought along. To his surprise, Jango let him put them on him without resisting. Anakin's actions had instilled the proper amount of fear in him.

Obi-Wan ordered the kid to come down and he obeyed without hesitation. "This is how things are going to go. The four of us are going to walk to our speeder. We will get in, then drive back to our home. The entire time, our astromech droid will be following us in the fighter he hijacked. If you try anything, he will fire on all of us. Do you understand?"

While Jango nodded his head, the kid just stared at Obi-Wan. From the look on his face, it was clear he was trying to act defiant.

"Boba, let the Jedi know you understand?" The kid gave his father a piercing glare but ended up obeying him and nodding his head.

The group walked back to the speeder and drove out of the city without incident. Artoo followed them in his fighter the entire way.

 **...**

Everyone was waiting outside for them when they drove up. They had been spotted when they were a good distance away, and everyone came out to greet them. They were puzzled by the fighter trailing their speeder, but they quickly understood when they saw Artoo piloting it.

"I see the two of you were successful." Padme moved to the front of the group as she felt she should act like the leader in front of the captured bounty hunter. "I see you brought back more than just our expected bounty hunter." She tried not to stare at the boy but couldn't avoid it.

"This is Boba Fett, the bounty hunter's son, err, I mean clone. At least, Jango claims he is his clone. It's something we need to figure out, and you are not going to believe the implications if he is a clone." Anakin excitedly looked between Jango and Padme. "Why don't you tell her what you are, bounty hunter. It will be better coming from you."

"I am the template for a clone army that was built by Senator Palpatine," Jango was stern and forceful as he spoke. "The senator has long suspected that the ambition and bloodlust of the Separatist warlords would spark a galactic war. In order to prepare for this, he commissioned a clone army to be grown and assembled on Kamino. This was all initiated ten years ago, with the clones being modified for growth acceleration and absolute obedience. The combat training they have been given is extensive. I have seen them, they are like me, strong and skilled. They are ready to fight in any war. The senator is just waiting for the right time to reveal them."

Padme appeared overcome with doubt by what Fett was telling her. Anakin had been expecting her to be joyous, but instead she appeared fearful. The eyes of everyone were on her, as they were waiting to see her reaction. She had the chance, the opportunity to make a bold choice and save her planet. There was also great risk involved. Utilizing the clone army would likely set-off a full-scale galactic war.

While Padme knew everything rested on her shoulders, the burden felt to be too much for her. She needed a moment away and ran down the stairs into the house to have some privacy. When Anakin saw this, he ran after her.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw her leaning against the wall, her back turned to him. He was going to call to her, but something told him he should stay silent. He started to think he shouldn't have followed her and began to leave.

"Please stay." Anakin detected the plea in Padme's voice. She turned around to talk to him. "I'm glad you came down here, I could use someone to talk to, and I feel like I can speak freely in front of you. Everyone up there, they have so many expectations of me, but you, you see me as just another person, not a royal."

"You cannot avoid the fact you are a royal," Anakin reminded her. "You have a stark choice to make, one that will affect your people, your planet, and possibly change the course of the entire galaxy."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"I would suggest using this army, if it exists. You are facing a decision similar to what I did when I acted to free my family and the other slaves. I knew no one would come to save us if we did not act on our own. From what you have told me about the Republic Senate, it appears they will do nothing to save your planet. You have to take this opportunity, Your Highness."

"And what if this starts the war everyone fears?"

"You can't let that stop you, at some point, you have to take the risk. From what you have been saying, it sounds like these warlords will continue conquering one system after another until the Republic itself stands up to them. I know it might feel inordinately burdensome to have to make a decision that could affect the entire galaxy, but you can't shy away from it. I think the Neimoidians, and this Hego Damask, are counting on the threat of war to keep you docile. They are counting on the same docility out of you that our slave masters counted on from us. More than anything, they tried to keep us in line by making us believe we had no hope in fighting back. Once we got over that, we were able to fight back, and we won. I can guess what you're thinking, that if you just wait, something will happen that will win your planet it's freedom. That is most likely what your warlord is counting on. That is what every powerful person counts on. You need to be powerful yourself. Act like this warlord. Stand up to him. That is the only way to accomplish anything."

"Thank you for that," she replied. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it almost seems like a cruel joke that you were not born a royal. You would have made a good one. I am sure there is a planet that could use a ruler like you."

Despite Anakin having succeeded in lifting her spirits for a second, she quickly appeared dejected again. The change was so stark Anakin noticed it and had to ask about it.

"What are you thinking about now?"

"That even if this clone army is real, and at our disposal, it will not be enough. I told you before, it would take a million troops and a thousand ships to liberate my planet. I don't think this clone army is going to be nearly enough."

"There's only one way to find out," Anakin pointed out.

"Talk to Fett." Padme walked past Anakin without saying anything more. Anakin followed her and when he reached the outside, he found everyone was still where they had left them.

"How many clone troopers are there?" Padme asked Jango as she walked right up to him. "I need to know how many are battle-ready right now."

"At least fifty thousand right now, and another-"

"Does Palpatine have a way to transport the troops."

"Yes, Kamino has freighters to get them off the planet. They will have to be packed, but they can hold the troops."

"And what about warships? Does Palpatine have any of those?"

"No, he doesn't?" Jango seemed dejected having to make the revelation. "But he doesn't need warships. He has this blue-skinned alien from the Unknown Regions who is a tactical genius. According to his reputation, he could easily find a way to defeat a fleet of a hundred ships with nothing more than a single fighter at his disposal."

"That's not such a big deal, I can do that." From the look Padme gave Anakin, it was clear he should not have tried to interject any levity into the proceedings. The glare she gave him was enough for their connection to form. Anakin was able to feel Padme's utter dejection in finding out the clone army was not nearly enough to liberate her planet. Anakin wanted her to stay hopeful.

 _Take the chance. Don't give up yet,_ he said to her through their connection.

"Let's see how much truth there is to this. Anakin, Obi-Wan, you're coming with me and the Fetts."

 **...**

Anakin, Obi-wan, Padme, and the two Fetts all crowded into the speeder. Just as with the previous journey, Artoo followed them in the commandeered fighter, ready to blast them all if the Fetts tried to escape.

For their part, the Fetts seemed comfortable with their captivity. They seemed to have a certain trust in the queen. They figured once she had what she wanted, she would let them go on their way.

When they reached the ship, the Fetts offered them no trouble as they all made their way inside and to the small medical facility. The computer used its droid arms to take swabs and tested them. To the delight of Padme, they were a perfect match, indicating that Boba was a clone of Jango, just as he had said.

After finding out the two were really clones, Padme contemplated what to do. "Do you know where Palpatine is right now?" she asked Jango.

"He's on Coruscant," he replied.

Padme did not like hearing that, as she felt there was a good chance that any communication could be intercepted if they called him. Given everything they had learned, it seemed like it might be worth the risk. She just wanted to make sure that they would truly be able to utilize the army.

"What are you waiting for, Padme," Anakin said. "This is the only option you have to fight back and reclaim your planet. You have to take it."

"If we try and contact Palpatine, we run the risk of having the message being intercepted."

"Why didn't you say that was the problem?" Jango said. "I have a line to Palpatine that is unknown to anyone, and completely secure."

"How can we be sure it is really as secure as you say?"

"Hey, no one has found out about the clone army yet, have they?"

Padme sighed as she realized the bounty hunter was making a valid point. She instructed him to go ahead and use their communicator to contact Palpatine. It didn't take long for the holographic image of the meek, old man to appear before them. The image looked familiar to Padme, even though she had never met the senator personally. He had been a part of a conference holo-communciation she had with Chancellor Valorum and other Senators when the invasion fleet first appeared in the orbit of Naboo.

"What is it, Jango?" Palpatine said. "I have been dealing with important business here on Coruscant. In case you haven't noticed, the galaxy is in crisis. You better have something good to discuss with me."

Padme was taken aback by the senator's tone of voice. He was angry, and snarling. It was a marked difference from the face he always wore in public, the one she had seen in holo-vids. Jango didn't seem surprised by it. Apparently, it was a side of the senator he had seen often.

"I do have something good for you." Jango was all smiles in his reply. "I have someone who desperately wants to talk to you. I'll just put her on and let her introduce herself."

As Jango moved back, Padme occupied the spot he had vacated so her image would appear in the communicator for the senator. She saw the remarkable change in his facial expression the moment he saw her. His eyes grew wide in surprise and his face lit up in relief. "Queen Amidala, is that you?"

"Yes, senator, it is I. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

The senator looked visibly relieved. "I am ecstatic to see you made it away from Naboo okay. Getting solid intel out of there has been difficult, but we did pick up the reports you made it out. I am glad to see they are accurate, and that the Federation was not trying to cover up your death."

"My journey off Naboo was harrowing, but I made it safely. One of my Jedi protectors was killed, but other than him, we got out unscathed. My sister and personal bodyguards are with me and safe along with the second Jedi." Even though she believed the communication was secure, she didn't want to say too much and give away where they were, just in case someone was truly paying attention to them.

"My computer has already revealed to me you are contacting me from Tatooine. You do not need to try and hide your location." A glimmer came over his face as he appeared to make a connection. "We've had reports about Federation warships battling smugglers there. Was that you?"

"Yes, it was."

"How did you ever survive a second attack after barely making it away from Naboo?"

"We were saved by the bravery of a very cunning and adept pilot." Padme couldn't help but smile in admiration over relating what Anakin did to save them. "How we were saved is not important. I am calling you because the bounty hunter, Jango Fett told us you possess a clone army, and we are looking to you for confirmation."

The image of Palpatine showed him giggle slightly. The giggle quickly changed into a smirk. "When I saw your image, I immediately thought about what you wanted. Yes, the clone army is real, and at your disposal for liberating your planet. It is yours to utilize if you wish."

For a moment, Padme seemed hesitant to reply. She looked back at Anakin, allowing him to see the apprehensive expression on her face. He nodded to her to tell her to go ahead. Her resolve stiffened, and she no longer appeared fearful, but confident.

"I will take it," she said with a steely determination.

"Good," he replied. "You have made the right choice. Using this army will be risky, but if it works outs, you will be remembered forever for this. Your people will praise you from now until the end of time." He paused for a moment as he thought of something. "We will have to meet in person to discuss tactics and strategy."

"Yes, I figured that," Padme said. "However, I do not wish to come to Coruscant. I am afraid it is full of spies and assassins."

"I concur. I would suggest meeting on a friendly planet, one much less crowded, where our security can be better confirmed. While most of the other senators here are too cowardly to stick their necks out for anyone, there are at least a handful who might be willing to come to our aid. I will speak to them personally about this while doing my best to be elusive. I will only tell them the full extent of what I am asking once I am guaranteed they will accept. We need to operate in secret as much as possible. I will send a simple message through this channel containing nothing but the name of the planet where we will be meeting."

"That is wise," Padme replied. She appeared to be apprehensive again as the enormity of what she was doing hit her. "I will be waiting for your message."

After the image of Palpatine disappeared, Padme had to place her hand against the wall to prop herself up. Anakin sensed she was close to fainting and rushed over to hold her.

"You did well," Anakin said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her steady. "You did the right thing. Within a few days, you are going to have everything you need to liberate your planet." With Anakin's strong arm around her waist, Padme went from feeling flush to feeling flustered. She seemed to soak up his strength as she regained her composure in a second. When she did, she felt embarrassed by the way he was holding her. She did her best to get out of his grip without making it obvious she was trying to push him away.

"Do we need the bounty hunter anymore, Your Highness." Obi-Wan wanted to send him along his way before he could fill the queen's mind with any more boasts. "Given that he works for Palpatine, I don't think you have to worry about him compromising you."

"Oh no, not at all. You can trust me. I won't tell anyone about you. I swear. I promise." Jango sounded shifty as he spoke.

"The two of you are free to go," Padme said. "You can take the fighter that is sitting outside and return to your own ship. I understand you have some repairs to make to it. For that, you are on your own. If everything works out, I will do my best to reimburse you through Palpatine."

"Thank you." Boba and Jango wasted no time in leaving before Padme could change her mind. Padme, Anakin, Obi-wan, and Artoo stayed around to set up the communicator so it would forward any messages they received to Anakin's place. When everything was set, they headed home.

 **...**

When the party of three reached Anakin's home, they informed the others of what happened. Soala, Tarsals, and Olie all approved of fighting to free Naboo. Despite that, there were still several issues to discuss.

To the shock of Padme, she received the message from Palpatine shortly after they got back to Anakin's. He had managed to find a planet they could meet on in the time it took them to travel from the ship to the homestead.

"Palpatine found a place for us to meet," she announced to everyone. A stunned expression came over her face when she saw the reply. "He's arranged for us to meet on Alderaan."

"Bail Organa is helping us with this?" Soala was just as stunned as her sister over the news. "I thought he was one of the loudest voices for pacificism in the galaxy."

"He has been," Padme replied. "I remember reading that he and Palpatine always butted heads over their differing views. However, they became close friends as they got to know each other well through their constant debates."

"It's obvious Palpatine believed he could trust Bail Organa to keep us safe," Soala said. "I'm just surprised he would think that he would be willing to aid us in liberating our planet."

"It's possible he's just providing us with sanctuary," Padme pointed out. "However, a pacifist such as himself has to be livid over the actions of Hego Damask and the other warlords. If he has come around to the position war is now inevitable, it will do much to win the Senate over to our cause."

"Which means we won't be arrested as war criminals if fighting back against our planet's occupation triggers the large-scale war everyone is expecting," Soala said.

While the royals were concerned about the larger implications of the trip to Alderaan, Tarsals was thinking about the more immediate concerns. "So, now that we aren't going to Coruscant, I take it we don't have to worry about hiring a transport. We can just take our own cruiser."

"We could if there weren't a fleet of dreadnaughts orbiting the planet, waiting to attack us should we try and leave," Olie pointed out. "Our best bet for getting past them might be to hire a smuggler so we can sneak past them."

"That would still take money, money we have yet to be able to earn," Obi-Wan said.

"What about another bounty?" Soala asked. "There has to be others that could pay us enough, so we can leave here." All eyes turned to Anakin.

"Jango was the only single one that would have given you what you needed. You could always try and catch a few different ones, but that will be difficult, take time, and might involve capturing people who should really be left free. I've been questioning if I should bring this up, but I don't think hiring a smuggler is going to change much. I know what kinds of pilots come here, very few will be willing to risk their lives for you. Most likely, they will sell you out to the Republic ships for more money than you could ever pay them."

Anakin sighed as he wondered if he was going to regret what he intended to say next. "The best thing for you to do would be to leave in your cruiser and try to run past them. I could go up in my fighter and help you. We formed a pretty good team when you arrived. I know there are more ships for us to deal with this time, but all you must do is make it outside the planet's gravity well. Once that happens, you can jump to hyperspace and disappear."

"And what will happen to you?" Padme asked. Her voice was cracking as she imagined what his fate would be. "Once we leave, it will just be you against all those dreadnaughts, plus whatever fighters they have. You'll never make it."

"What do you mean I'll never make it?" Anakin smirked as he talked, trying to act cocky. "Don't you remember how I was flying before? I can run rings around them."

"And just how are you ever going to make it back here? You're never going to defeat all the forces they have up there. If you try and run, they are just going to follow you down here. They will shoot you out of the sky. I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself like that. I am the decider here, and we will never leave under those circumstances."

"You have an entire planet relying on you, Padme." Anakin was raising his voice to her, something which others had rarely done, given the Naboo protocols when addressing the queen. "The freedom of your planet relies on you making it to Alderaan. I am willing to make any sacrifice I must to help you get there."

Owen was off to the side, witnessing everything. He felt everything that was happening was a result of his brother being manipulated by others. He wasn't sure what they wanted with Anakin, but he was afraid they didn't have the best interests of his brother at heart.

"Please, don't think you have to do anything for them, Anakin." Owen stepped forward to try and block Anakin's view of everyone. It didn't work as Anakin was so tall, he could simply see over his brother's head. Owen still did his best to gesticulate to draw Anakin's attention as he yelled at him. "This is not your fight. You owe them nothing. You have no obligation to them. You have already done enough for them, more than enough. Please don't do anything stupid on their part."

Owen paused as he considered if he should tell Anakin what he was contemplating telling him next. "I never mentioned this to you, but after our parents were sold, they had a feeling they were never going to see us again. The two of them made me promise to watch over you, and I am not going to let you sacrifice your life for these people."

Everyone believed Owen's words were extremely harsh. The tension in the room was palpable. Soala did her best to try and break it by offering an alternative.

"Why can't we just get out of here the same way we escaped from Naboo?" she asked. "The Jedi is fully recovered now. Can't he just move a ship out of the way for us."

"The situation leaving here is going to be much different than when we left Naboo," Obi-Wan explained. "We were very fortunate that the ships blockading Naboo were in the middle of landing troops. If their hangars had not been full of transports, they would have launched fighters against us. Also, those ships were defensive. They were large and slow and couldn't chase us. These dreadnaughts are built for offense, they are fast and will not only be able to chase us but be able to surround us and attack from all sides. I might be able to move a dreadnaught, but only one."

Everyone was completely dejected to hear they had nothing but bad options. Obi-Wan was thinking about one option, although he wasn't sure if he should mention it given the current mood of the room. "While I may not have the power in the Force to clear a path for us, I think Anakin just might."

Anakin was shocked by what Obi-Wan was saying, as was everybody else. "You really think I can do it?"

"Yes, you have a natural affinity for the Force, as I've said before. With the proper channeling, I think we can get you in tune to the Force enough to allow us to escape."

"So, I would have to go on the ship with you and go to Alderaan with you."

"We could arrange for you to get transport back here after we reached Alderaan," Obi-Wan told him.

"Or you could stay with us, and start a new life," Padme began. "If we make it out of here, my people will owe you immensely. I will make sure you are taken care of, and that you will be able to have whatever life you want."

Owen's fury grew even more. "Don't leave with these people, Anakin," Owe pleaded. "You barely know them, you don't understand the world beyond this planet. Leaving here would be a mistake, no good can come from it."

"What happens when we reach Alderaan won't matter if I fail, and I am almost certain to fail." Anakin shook his head over having to tell them an uncomfortable truth. He turned his attention to Obi-Wan. "Master Jedi, I appreciate that you believe I have the potential to utilize the Force, but I will never be able to harness it to the level you need in the time frame you need. As a pilot, however, I am aware of what I am capable of and what I have the potential to do. Despite the fact I will just be flying a single flyer, I am confident I will be able to hold the fleet off you just long enough to allow you to escape."

After saying everything he needed to Obi-Wan, he turned his attention to Padme. She knew what was coming, and the thought of it caused her so much turmoil she closed her eyes in an attempt to hide her pain. "Queen Amidala, I appreciate the offer you made to me. As I told Obi-Wan, it is best for us to take our chances with me in my fighter. If you want to do something for me, do this. Commission me into your military. The way I understand things, if I were to die as a soldier in service to Naboo, my beneficiaries would be entitled to a generous pension. If you would be willing to do that, then Owen and Beru-"

"I have no intention of ever collecting any such pension." Owen was yelling so loudly Anakin figured the neighbors had to be hearing him, even though the closest ones were miles away. "I will never profit from you senselessly throwing your life away. I made a promise to our parents, and I will not profit from breaking it."

"Lose this place again, if you like." It was Anakin's turn to scowl at his brother as he was angered over the rebuke. The anger he was feeling flowed out in the Force. It was something Padme was able to feel.

"Please, Anakin, have some confidence in yourself," Padme tried to plead with him. "In the past, when you've been afraid, you have been able to harness the power of the Force to do things you didn't know you could. Going on the ship with us could be such a moment. I know you will be scared, but that is when the power of the Force has always come to you."

"The power that has come to him has come from the dark side of the Force." Obi-Wan was angry, but doing his best to speak calmly, in accordance with Jedi decorum. "The dark side only allows someone to lash out in fear and anger. It can feel powerful, but it will not allow him to harness the power he needs. Anakin needs to channel the Force for our protection. Only proper channeling of the light side will allow him to manipulate the entire fleet. With the dark side, he might be able to destroy a ship or two, but that will not be enough for us to escape. He has the potential to learn how to channel the Force enough to do what he needs. With his natural abilities, it can be done, if he is willing to listen to me."

Anakin realized Obi-Wan was slyly challenging him and sought to take up the Jedi on that challenge. He also knew that Padme was never going to accept his plan and would work on him all night if he didn't find a way to get away from her. If nothing, else, he could at least humor the Jedi and the queen for a few hours.

"What do I have to do to utilize the Force in the manner I need to?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan.

"Simply come outside with me," he commanded. Everyone moved to leave. "This is something Anakin and I should do alone." He was stern, and everyone except Anakin stayed put, in accordance with his command.

The two suns of the planet were setting when Anakin and the Jedi walked out. The beauty of the sight calmed Anakin. He did his best to hold on to that feeling, as he knew Obi-Wan wanted him calm. It was hard to maintain that feeling, as the thought he was watching the sunset for the last time kept creeping into his mind. He was fearful, and it destroyed the calm, serene feeling he was trying to channel.

"Are we out here because you wanted us to get away from the others?"

"While that does help, I mainly wanted us to come outside because we need you to commune with nature."

"You might want to take a look around." Anakin was sarcastic as he talked. "There isn't any nature out here, only sand."

"There's enough of it, and you are going to use it to channel the Force. This is how I first learned to channel the Force, in a lesson taught to be by Master Yoda. I will never forget how he explained it to me-"

Obi-Wan paused as he took a moment to embrace the pleasant memory of that lesson. "The Force flows through everything, and you are going to learn how to channel it by reaching out and feeling it in all the life forms around here."

"As I said before, there isn't anything around here but sand."

"Can you stop thinking about sand?"

"It's going to be hard for me to do. I really hate sand. It gets in everything, and –" From the expression on Obi-Wan's face, it was clear he had heard enough. "I can put it out of my mind."

"Good. Now, despite what you might think, there is life around here. You're just going to have to try a little harder to find it and feel it." Almost on cue, a small, reptilian creature with large hind legs came into view as it bounced across the land scape. "Right there," Obi-Wan said as he pointed. "There's a life form with the Force flowing through it." He looked up as he heard buzzing. There were flying reptiles above them. "And up there, those creatures have the Force also."

"And the dying Dewback they are heading for, does that have the Force flowing through it?"

"How do you know where they are going?"

"All these creatures are scavengers. They may not be making their way to a Dewback, but they are going after something that is near death."

"Yes, that would have the Force as well. Now, all you need to do, is close your eyes and reach out to feel all the wildlife that is out there. The Force is flowing through everything, and you need to be able to feel it."

From the way Obi-Wan was talking, Anakin could tell he was giving him a lesson designed for children. It didn't inspire him with confidence that he was being treated like a novice when they needed him to become an expert in less than a day. He knew he had to give the exercise a try and closed his eyes and did as the Jedi instructed.

When Anakin closed his eyes and concentrated, he could feel a mystical power running through him. He could feel the Force was a part of him, something that he could control in the same manner he controlled an appendage or any other part of his body. Knowing he could exert that kind of control over it, he reached out with it and tried to use it to feel what was around him.

At first, he reached out clumsily. He could feel the Force moving further away from his body, but it wasn't focused on anything. All of a sudden, he felt it latch on to another entity, it was the scavenger lizard that had been bouncing along. Its Force presence wasn't strong, but he felt a surge of pride in being able to feel it.

He was able to maintain the feeling of the scavenger's Force presence as it moved further away from him. Knowing the flying scavengers were traveling with him, he tried to use the jumping lizard as a starting point for reaching out further. In an instant, he could feel the flying lizards in the sky. He reached out even further, trying to feel the dying creature they were traveling towards. He could feel the Force flowing over the sand. When it reached the dying Dewback, he could sense all the pain that creature was experiencing as the life flowed out of it.

Anakin didn't dwell on the dying creature for long, as he was feeling elation over his success. He started to think that he would be able to do what the others needed. As his thoughts switched to that, the previous doubts and fears he had been feeling returned. With fear returning, he instantly lost his control of the Force. All the presences he had been feeling vanished.

"You were doing it there for a moment." Obi-Wan sounded cheerful over what Anakin had been able to do. "You just lost it there completely, at the end."

"I was feeling fear as I thought about how I have to be able to do this tomorrow. I know I can't fail. There will be too many people depending on me."

"Now you see it don't you. Fear is not an aid in utilizing the Force, it is a hindrance. You need to learn to push away the fear, so you can harness the Force, and use it for its natural purpose."

Anakin tried to repeat what he had done before but found it much more difficult. He felt the pressure on him, and it just fed into his fear, making it so that he would never be able to push it away.

"You were doing it before." The cheerfulness disappeared from Obi-Wan's tone.

"I know I was." Anakin did his best to hide his anger, as he knew the Jedi would not approve of it. "I can't help it, I'm just really feeling the pressure of what I need to do, and that is making me fearful." He took a deep breath as he glared at Obi-Wan. "I think at this point, it might be best for me to try and work on my own. Without you around, I might not be so fearful."

"I can understand why you want that, and I will honor your request, for now. However, when we are on the ship, you will need to be able to channel the Force while everyone is around. I will leave for now so that you may be able to get the hang of it alone. Being able to do that should give you the confidence you need to be able to do it even when the pressure is on you. In the morning, we will see if you can do it under those circumstances."

After Obi-Wan left him alone, Anakin tried again and again to channel the Force and reach out with it. He failed with his first few attempts, but as he continued, he was able to put out of his mind the fear he had been feeling. Once again, he was able to channel the Force calmly and reach out with it. He was able to reach out further than before, but everything came crashing down quickly.

After several failures, Anakin came to believe the problem might be he was trying to reach out too quickly. He thought it might be best to move slower, concentrate on establishing strong connections with those closest around before attempting to reach out further in the Force.

Calming himself again, Anakin channeled the Force, pushing his Force presence out, but doing so at a much slower pace. He felt the Force presences of every person in his house behind him. Before, he had just experienced the barest of their presences. However, now he was able to feel the full presence of each person in the Force. He noticed there were significant differences between each person's presence in the Force. Obi-Wan was the strongest, of course, with Captain Olie as the weakest. Anakin smirked over that revelation. The presence of Padme was only slightly less than Obi-Wan's. Anakin guessed he was feeling her presence so strongly because of the connection they shared. She was sleeping at the moment, exuding calmness. Her calm feelings seemed to be transferring to him, so he tried to focus on her even more to alleviate his anxiety.

Padme was dreaming at the moment, and Anakin was able to experience her dream. It was an odd dream to him. She was on another planet, Anakin thought it could have been Naboo. He had now way of knowing. She was walking across a small field of grass that was surrounded on three sides by rocks and sea. Padme was walking to the stretch of land leading away from the peninsula, surrounded by several small aliens all dressed in religious uniforms. When Padme looked down, he could see that she was wearing the same uniform. She looked up again right as she reached the top of a hill. Looking down, her gaze fell upon a shuttle that had just landed. The ramp was down. Walking down it was a regally-dressed woman along with three small children. Anakin could feel the excitement Padme experienced when she saw the children. She started running down the hill to greet them. When they saw her, they started running also. As the children got closer to Padme, Anakin was able to make them out. The three all looked to be close together in age. The girl and one of the boys were the same height, while the second boy was just a little bit shorter than his siblings. They were shouting a greeting to Padme, but Anakin couldn't make out what it was. When Padme finally reached the children, she wrapped her arms around them. She clutched all three as tightly as she could.

Right then, Padme woke. She was able to feel the connection and experience everything he was. Reflexively, Anakin shut it down.

Not knowing what to do next, Anakin simply stood still. He was staring at the endless landscape of sand he hated so much, wondering once again if this would be the last time he ever laid eyes upon it. For the moment, he didn't want to feel anything in the Force.

Even without the aid of the Force, he was able to feel the presence of someone behind him. He knew it was Padme. When he turned around to look at her, he was taken aback by what he saw. Standing before him was Padme wearing nothing but her nightgown, her body softly illuminated by the faint light coming from the house. While she wasn't really showing a lot of skin, he was still shocked she would have come out to see him without first putting on a robe. He wondered if it was inadvertent, if she was simply that comfortable with him, or if she was trying to send him a message.

Padme looked so angelic, that for a moment, he wondered if she was real. He thought he might have been dreaming, or, he wondered if she was some mirage he had conjured with the Force. As he looked her over for a sign she was an apparition, he noticed the bottle she was holding.

"I felt the problems you're having." As Padme talked, she walked up the stairs and took the few steps across the sand she needed to reach him. Anakin was dejected that in the brief moment she had been connected to him, she had been able to experience all his failures. He knew he was letting her down, and he felt horrible over it. She was standing right in front of him, but he stared straight ahead and over her head. He wanted to avoid looking into her eyes and connecting with her.

"I thought a little liquid courage might help you."

"Thanks," he said as he grabbed the bottle. He did his best to avoid looking Padme in the eye as he took the bottle, put it to his lips, and took a big gulp of the beverage.

"Do you want to try it again?" Padme asked. "Reaching out with the Force, I mean. You thought you had made some improvement there. If you just keep trying, I'm sure you can do it."

"Unless I learn to eradicate my feelings of fear, I'll never be able to do it." Anakin was feeling completely dejected, and he was hopeful Padme wouldn't be able to connect to him and feel it as well. "The Jedi said the members of their Order have to spend their entire lives learning to control their fear. I have one night, I don't see how I'm ever going to do it. I should give up and just go inside."

Before Anakin could make a move to go down the stairs, Padme reached up and grabbed one of the straps of his tank top. "Don't give up like this," she pleaded. "You can do this. I need you to do this. We need you to do this." With a trembling hand, she let go of the strap and brushed her fingers against the bare skin of his chest. She pressed her hand firmly against his chest as she moved it to his neck, cupping his cheek with her hand as she ran her thumb along his chin. "Let me help you with this." Her voice was pure sympathy, and she almost succeeded in getting him to look down at her.

"You helped me see a part of my dream I had never seen before. Perhaps I can help you figure out what's causing all your fear."

"What are you talking about, with your dream?" Anakin glanced down at her without looking her in the eye.

"The one I just had. The one you saw. It was a dream I started having shortly after my parents were killed. I found it odd the same dream kept repeating in my head. I thought I was just dreaming of a safe place I had imagined. A place where I could hide out and no one could find me. It always ended when I started walking up the hill. I always felt there was more to it, and just now I got to see it, all because of you."

"That was just a dream," Anakin said as he shook his head. "Me helping you see more of your dream doesn't mean you can help me with anything."

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Padme said. Anakin still refused to do anything. "What are you scared of, Anakin? The two of us have already shared just about everything. I know almost everything about you, and you know almost everything about me. Let me find out what's holding you back."

Anakin knew Padme was not going to let him give up. Letting out a sigh, he looked down at her. Their eyes met, and he could feel her inside his head. Suddenly, he found himself transported to a different place and a different time. He felt like he was experiencing a dream even though he was awake. He was in his childhood home. He couldn't tell how old he was at the time, but it didn't take him long to find he was reliving the last time he had seen his mother and stepfather alive. Watto was telling him and Owen he had sold their parents, and they had to say their final good-byes. Initially upon hearing the news, Anakin had run to his room, leaving Owen to say good-bye alone. Anakin finally made his way back. He and his mother both had tears in their eyes as he they hugged. Anakin felt something stirring inside him. A voice was telling him he had the power to save his parents. He had the power to kill Watto and allow them all to escape. The very thought of killing someone frightened him. He knew he could never do it. The stirring went away, and he and Owen watched helplessly as their parents walked out the door for the last time."

Anakin found himself back in the present day, staring down at Padme. She had a look of pure sympathy on her face. She also looked like she was going to cry.

"That was it, wasn't it?" she asked.

"I don't get it. Why is that holding me back?"

"Because you failed to save your parents. You failed to save your parents because you were too young to use your Force power. You are no longer a powerless boy, you are a man with abilities in the Force that are unrivaled in the galaxy. You have the power to save anyone. The only one who can hold you back, is you. Understand that, and you can do anything. You have the potential to be the most powerful Force user in the entire galaxy."

Anakin felt Padme was trying to build him up too much. She sensed the skepticism he had.

"Just give it one more try," she pleaded.

Anakin went ahead and took a few steps away from Padme. He closed his eyes, and tried to channel the Force, but still wasn't having any more success then he was just a moment earlier. Padme noticed his failure.

Anakin knew he was failing Padme, just as he had failed his mother. He remembered what Padme had told him. He was powerful enough to do anything. He was finally able to push away his fears and replace them with confidence and determination. He could feel the Force surging through him. He exerted it outward, over the surface of the desert in front of him. It extended over the entire planet before reaching out into space and the ships orbiting the planet.

Knowing he had succeeded, Anakin stopped. He turned around as Padme jumped up into is arms. She was so excited she almost kissed him but caught herself in time. Anakin knew what she wanted. The glance she took towards the door told him that if she wasn't scared about being seen, she might have very well went through with the kiss.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he said to her.

"So, is that it?" Padme asked. "Does this mean you'll be leaving with us on the cruiser."

"Yes." He could barely get the word out as the momentousness of the occasion got to him.

"Maybe we should head inside now." Padme held out her hand, and Anakin took it. Just as they started to head inside, the sound of alarms blaring came from inside the house.

"What is that?" Padme screamed.

"That's the sandstorm alarm," Anakin yelled. He let go of Padme's hand and ran out a few steps. He stopped to scan the landscape, trying to spot the coming storm, but couldn't see anything in the dark.

Standing near the door to the homestead, Padme could hear all the voices coming from inside. Everyone was yelling, so it made it easy to hear them even over the sound of the alarms.

"What is that?" Obi-Wan and Captain Olie kept asking over and over.

"It's the sandstorm alarm," Owen finally replied.

"What set it off?" Tarsals asked.

"We've got sensors placed on the outskirts of the farm to detect them. They can tell us everything; how strong it is, how fast it is moving."

"And what are the sensors telling you now?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Hold on, give me a second to analyze everything."

Padme was listening so intently to all the voices she didn't notice Soala coming up the steps until the girl thrust her robe at her. "I think you forgot this." She spoke in a scowl.

"Calm down," was all Padme said as she took the robe and wrapped it around herself.

"The sensors are telling me this one is bad," Owen was yelling so loud his voice made its way outside. "It's coming up on us fast. The vaporators are going to be toast, but the rest of the house will be okay. It's built to handle it, we are just going to have to lock ourselves in the shelter." He paused for a moment before saying one more thing. "Where's Anakin?"

"He's up here with us," Soala yelled down.

When Owen emerged from the house, the two sisters could see the unmistakable look of terror on his face. He ran right out to where Anakin was.

"You need to come inside. The storm is going to be here in a minute."

"What about the vaporators?" Anakin asked.

"There's no time." Anakin knew it pained Owen to admit the truth. Losing the vaporators to this storm would be a financial catastrophe, one he might never come back from. Anakin knew he couldn't let that happen.

The others had all come out to get a personal glimpse of the coming storm. Obi-Wan was among them, and Anakin ran right up to him.

"Would it be possible to use the Force to calm the storm?" Anakin asked.

"If you have gained the ability to channel the Force enough, then yes, I think so."

Anakin walked in the direction of the coming storm. When he was a good distance from the homestead, he held his hand out in front of him as he reached out with the Force. He walked out right into the heart of the storm. With the Force forming a shield around him, he was unaffected by the wind and the sand. The shield around him grew until it encompassed the entire farm. Anakin didn't stop there, he pushed out with the Force until the storm stopped.

When he was done, he made his way back to the others. Everyone was amazed by what he had done, and they were absolutely shocked to see he showed no signs of fatigue.

"It looks like you've leaned how to channel the Force properly," Obi-Wan exclaimed in amazement. "You see what you can accomplish when your abilities are properly tamed. Instead of lashing out in anger with the dark side you reached out calmly with the light side. You must come with us to Alderaan, where I can further your training in the Force. You will be a powerful asset to the queen as she tries to liberate her planet."

When Anakin looked over to Padme, she nodded her approval to him. No one saw it, but Owen had a look of pure dejection on his face.

"That settles it," Anakin said. "I will go on the ship with you, help you escape to Alderaan, then stay to help you liberate your planet." Everyone from Naboo was elated as they headed back inside to get some sleep during the few hours of night they had left.

 **...**

The next morning, Anakin was the first one up. He was both worried and excited about what the day was going to hold for him. He woke when it was still dark. Feeling this might be his last day on Tatooine ever, he went outside to view the rise of the twin suns one last time. As their nascent rays illuminated the bleak, barren landscape, he realized he was not going to miss the place at all.

As he did every morning, Owen woke with the sunrise. He went outside as always, expecting to be alone. He was surprised to see Anakin out there. He thought about turning back and leaving him alone, but went out to talk to him as he thought this might be the only chance he got to talk to him alone before he left.

When he reached his stepbrother, Anakin looked back briefly to glance at Owen. He turned his attention back to the sunset without saying anything. He knew how Owen felt, and he had no need to talk to him. It was up to Owen to start the conversation.

"So, did you change your mind overnight?"

"No, I'm still going to be leaving with the others."

"You're making a huge mistake."

"And why do you say that?" Anakin turned around to glare at his stepbrother.

"Because you don't know these people at all, and you are blindly letting them lead you into the middle of a war. You don't understand the world that is out there and what you are getting yourself into."

"And you do understand the world that is out there?"

"No, I don't, and that is why I understand my place is here. Your ignorance of the world you are traveling to is going to get you in trouble, maybe even get you killed. I made a promise to our parents to watch out for you, and because of that I am telling you not to leave, no good can come from it."

"I'm going to look forward to sending you a message and telling you how wrong you are."

"I would rather you not send me a message at all, good or bad. Beru and I are not going to live worrying every day what you might have gotten yourself into and whether you're alive. It will be much easier to just consider you dead the moment you leave, rather than wait for the inevitable message to come."

"If that's the way you want it, then you'll get your wish. It will save me a lot of trouble." Anakin walked back to the homestead, seething with anger. Once he reached it, he ran into Olie, who asked to drive him out to the ship in the speeder, so he could then fly it back. Anakin happily agreed, and the two were on their way within minutes.

 **...**

A few hours later, everyone was saying good-bye to Owen and Beru. While Anakin didn't say anything to Owen, he did give Beru a warm embrace. From the look on her face, Anakin could tell she knew she was never going to see him again. Owen had apparently told her about his wishes, and it appeared she understood the ramifications. He wished her well as he said good-bye.

The couple didn't stay out to wave to them. Anakin felt disappointment as he looked for them through the cockpit window. With Olie at the controls, the ship ascended into the sky before flying away.

The moment they left the planet's atmosphere, the control panel lit up as every alarm went off. The sound of the alarms were deafening as the ship's computer was trying to warn them several warships were closing in on their position. The holo-imager activated to show them all the dreadnaughts and small fighters that were closing in on them.

Despite the danger they faced, everyone in the ship was calm. They had confidence that Anakin would get them through. When the ship started rocking from all the blaster bolts hitting it, they knew it was time for Anakin to do his thing.

"This is it," Olie yelled to make sure he got Anakin's attention. "I'm going to fly directly towards this dreadnaught here." He pointed out on the holo-imager which one he was talking about. "Try to move that one out of the way first, but all the others are going to close on us quickly, so you'll have to move all of them. I wouldn't worry too much about the fighters, as their weak blasters will never be able to penetrate our shields before we jump to hyperspace."

Trying to avoid feeling the pressure, Anakin closed his eyes and started to channel the Force. It was so strong, he felt like all his surroundings were an extension of himself. With this feeling, he knew he could manipulate everything by will.

Everyone in the cockpit watched in amazement as every ship around them moved out of the way for them. Olie wasted no time in putting the thrusters to the max so they could race past the ships and make their way outside the gravity well of the planet. As they did so, everyone's eyes were on Anakin, marveling over the fact he was showing no signs of exertion. He looked perfectly normal.

"We're clear!" Olie shouted once the display on his control panel showed they had passed the threshold of the planet's gravity well. He pulled the level to send the ship into hyperspace. The stars turned to blue streaks as they sped to safety.


	5. Thrawn and Palpatine

**Chapter 5: Thrawn and Palpatine**

Anakin Skywalker woke up, opening his eyes to complete darkness. Initially, he thought he must be in his bed at home. However, the bed he was in was too comfortable. Also, the smell was too pleasant. Knowing he couldn't be in his own room helped jog his memory. He was on a Naboo blockade runner, flying through hyperspace. He had helped the ship get past a fleet of dreadnaughts that had been orbiting Tatooine. They made it past them and jumped to hyperspace, and were now on their way to Alderaan to meet with Bail Organna and Sheev Palpatine with the hope they might be able to form an alliance with the two and liberate Naboo from the Neimoidian Federation.

As he thought about his current situation, the events of the past few days ran through his mind. He was in orbit around Tatooine, test flying a fighter he had personally constructed when he came across a battle. Two dreadnaughts had caught a Naboo cruiser and were reeling it in through a tractor beam. He came to their assistance, and utilizing his superior piloting skills, he found a way to take out both dreadnaughts and free the cruiser.

After saving the cruiser, they radioed him that they needed even more help. After landing on the planet, he found out the cruiser contained a small party that had fled the occupation of Naboo. The party was led by Queen Padme Amidala, a beautiful blonde woman who was just a few years older than Anakin. She was the one who explained to him they were on his planet to find a pilot who could discreetly fly them to Coruscant so they could avoid any Neimoidian forces who might try and assassinate her.

Before they could hire a ship, they first needed to earn money on Tatooine to do so. Needing a base of operations for that, Anakin invited all of them back to the homestead he shared with Owen, his stepbrother, and Beru, the man's wife. Besides the queen, they ended up housing four other people: Captain Tarsals, the Gungan head of security for Padme, Captain Olie, her personal pilot, Princess Soala, the queen's younger sister, and a Jedi Knight. There was also the astromech droid R2-D2.

In the process of trying to earn the money that was needed, they learned that Sheev Palpatine had a secret clone army they could utilize to liberate Naboo. Bail Organna had agreed to host a summit for them so they might discuss the strategy for conquering the planet. While Anakin had come along primarily to use his Force powers to help them past the dreadnaughts, he was hoping there would be a role for him in liberating Naboo. Back on Tatooine, the Jedi Knight had been teaching him to harness the enormous potential he had in the Force. He was hoping to participate in the invasion of Naboo both to make use of what he had learned, and to further understand what the true extent of his powers were.

Checking the time, Anakin could see it was close to the time they were supposed to be arriving at Alderaan. He thought it might be nice to go to the cockpit so he could get a glimpse of the planet. Exiting the bedroom, he stepped out and almost ran right into C-3PO.

"Threepio, what are you doing here?" Years ago, he had built the protocol droid as a wedding present for Owen and Beru. The programming he bought and installed ended up giving the droid an annoying personality all three of them despised. They shut him down after just a few days. When the royals arrived, Anakin activated it for them, so they would have a servant, as he figured they were accustomed to. The droid served them well, but Anakin figured once they left Owen would shut it down again.

"I was told to board the ship under the orders of Master Owen," Threepio replied, puzzled that Anakin would be questioning his presence on the ship. "Is there a problem with my presence here, Master Anakin."

"No, there's no problem whatsoever." Anakin had to speak with clenched teeth as he was seething with anger. He knew Owen had been angry with him leaving, but he didn't think his brother was so mad as to stick him with the protocol droid they both hated.

Anakin did his best to hide his anger from the droid as he walked past him and made his way to the cockpit. He reached it to find it empty except for Captain Olie, who was sitting in the pilot's chair. He kept his eyes on the control panel as Anakin approached him.

"You can sit in the co-pilot's seat, if you want," Olie said to him. Anakin took the seat the pilot offered. "When we exit hyperspace, you can fly this if you want. I know you'll be able to handle it."

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll decline," Anakin replied. "I just came out here to see the planet when we exit hyperspace."

"This is your first trip to another planet, isn't it?" Olie asked.

"Yes, it is. Thanks for letting me sit here so that I might be able to enjoy this moment."

"It's not a problem. I've gone to countless systems, and this never gets old for me. It's one of the reasons I always wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to see the galaxy, and I figured this was the best way to do it." Olie scanned the control panel to check their progress. "It looks like we have just a minute until we should be exiting hyperspace."

After waiting the requisite minute, Olie pulled the lever to command the ship to leave hyperspace. The blue illumination in front of them disappeared and was replaced by the blackness of space. In the distance, Anakin could see a faint blue-green dot, which he guessed was the planet Alderaan. It grew large quick, as the ship was flying fast. As they approached the planet, he could make out the oceans and the continents. The space traffic around it was sparse. Despite that, Anakin ended up paying more attention to the other ships. He knew their arrival was supposed to be discreet, but he still couldn't help but wonder what the other ships would think when they saw the Naboo cruiser.

"None of those ships are going to think anything of us," Olie explained. "Nobody pays much attention to space traffic."

Anakin figured he had to trust the man. He turned his attention back to the planet to see they were close enough for Anakin to make out the cities that dotted the landscape. They didn't seem to be heading towards any of them, instead, Olie had the ship pointed directly at a wooded area.

When they entered the planet's atmosphere, Anakin still couldn't make out where they might be headed. He pushed his curiosity aside so he could just enjoy the view. In his entire life, he had never seen anything other than endless desert. It was quite the treat to be watching as they flew over a lush forest.

As they flew over the forest, they passed several lakes and rivers. Most of them were small. Anakin became intrigued when he could see a rather large lake coming up on the horizon. He leaned forward to try and get a better view. Olie slowed the ship down. Initially, Anakin thought he was doing it so Anakin could get a good view of the lake. However, as they neared it, he could see the oval shaped lake contained a resort. There were two large buildings, one on each side. He guessed this must be the location of the summit.

Olie had the cruiser circle the lake before he brought it down on the landing pad atop one of the buildings. After they landed, a small group emerged from the building. Anakin guessed it was the welcoming party. They were all dressed regally, but also uniformly, except for one. The people who were dressed uniformly all had on loose fitting clothes and wore their hair simply. Anakin got the sense they were just servants. The one person not dressed in the servant uniform was a young woman wearing a tight, form fitting dress with a long train. It looked like the kind of dress he had seen in Padme's closet on the ship. She was wearing her black hair up in a very complicated style. Everything about her suggested she was a royal or a dignitary.

Padme had them gather together before they went down as a single group. Everyone walked together, with Padme taking the lead. As they approached the Alderanians, Anakin could see the woman he identified as the dignitary was even more beautiful up close. When Padme was just a few steps away from her, the woman bowed.

"It is my pleasure to greet you and welcome you to Alderaan," the woman said when she was done with her bow. "I am Sheltay Retrac, an aide to Bail Organa, our noble king. He is not here presently, but will arrive shortly. He sent me ahead to welcome you and tend to your needs until he can make it himself. I know you had a very harrowing journey reaching us, and we wish to do everything we can to assure that you are as comfortable as possible during your stay with us."

"I thank you for the hospitality, but I think everyone in my party has more important things on our mind than our own comfort," Padme replied. Despite that, we will be doing our best to enjoy our time here. You have a lovely planet, and I am glad to finally be here to see it, even though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"You must not remember it, but you were actually here once, as a two-year old child," Sheltay said. "It was right around the time your sister, Soala, was due to be born. Because of that, your mother did not accompany you and your father. My mother was Bail's governess, and she had the duty of watching you during that visit." Sheltay smiled in amusement as she remembered something. "There was a moment where you fell and scraped yourself pretty badly, and my mother was sick with fear your father would be enormously angry and take it out on her. Instead, he was incredibly pleasant, as he realized a child your age was going to have scrapes like the ones you sustained."

Padme appeared taken aback by the story Sheltay told her. "I don't have any recollection of any of that. I am surprised you can remember it, as you must not have been much older than I was."

"I was three at the time, but I have always had a remarkable memory."

"If you can remember details like that from when you were three, then your mind is quite impressive."

"I think we've talked enough about the two of us," Sheltay replied. "Perhaps everyone in your group would like to be taken to their rooms to have a rest. I have an army of servants ready to show everyone to their rooms, as well as carry any luggage you have."

 **...**

Anakin had a servant show him to his room. It was an uncomfortable walk, as the servant had appeared to turn his nose up at the dilapidated suitcase Anakin handed him. He could tell the servant believed Anakin didn't belong there at the royal resort.

When they reached his room, the servant explained some things as he put the suitcase on the bed for him. Anakin was hoping he would leave him quickly, as he didn't want to put up with the arrogant man any longer. Instead, to his great irritation, the servant volunteered to help him unpack. He opened the suitcase before Anakin could tell him not to. He was furious over the invasion of privacy but didn't feel he could admonish the royal servant.

Anakin's anger was further intensified as the servant looked over the contents of the suitcase and turned his nose up at them. "You're going to need something to wear when you meet with the king later." He closed the suitcase up as he walked over to Anakin and pulled something out of his pocket. "Hold still," he said as he used the device to scan Anakin's body. "You're rather large, so we don't have anything on hand for you to wear. Don't worry, though, we have a very talented seamstress at our employ, and she will make a fitting outfit for you. After she finishes that I will have her construct an entire wardrobe for your stay."

"Do I get any say in what I get?" Anakin asked as the servant hurried out. The silence from him was all the answer Anakin got.

After the servant left, Anakin went ahead and unpacked the meager belongings from his suitcase. He was afraid if he didn't, another servant would come by when he was gone and throw away the whole suitcase. It only took him a matter of seconds. With nothing left to do and apparently a lot of time to wait, he started looking around the room. There were amenities in it he couldn't identify. He thought about examining them but refrained as he didn't want to mess anything up and earn the wrath of the servant who had to clean it.

When the servant returned with his clothes, he was quite pleased with the result. They made a military dress uniform for him, and it looked quite impressive. The servant left quickly, which Anakin didn't mind. Things changed as he tried to get dressed. He got the pants and boots on okay but had trouble with the jacket. It had a row of clasps to it that he just could not figure out. He got mad at the servant for not anticipating the problem and showing him how to do them. He struggled with it forever, and still couldn't get a single one clasped. It was getting close to the time for them to meet with Bail Organa and Sheev Palpatine, and he didn't know what to do. He figured there had to be a way for him to call a servant so they could come and help him.

Being ignorant of the most basic of protocols, Anakin could do nothing more than search around the room for a button that would connect him with a servant. He had no idea where it might be, so all he could do was randomly search around for it. For the first time in his life, he wished he had Threepio around. Perhaps the protocol droid's programming contained the information he needed on how to do up the jacket, or how to contact a servant.

As he was searching around, he heard a buzzer sound. He tried to figure out what it was and how he might have activated it. As it continued, he soon understood the sound indicated someone was trying to contact him.

"Uh, hello," he said. Once again, being ignorant, he had no idea how to reply to the person who was trying to contact him.

"Anakin, it's Padme." He felt an instant sense of relief over hearing her voice. "I'm right outside. I can let myself in, I just wanted to make sure it was okay."

"Uh, yeah, that's fine." Anakin hoped she was able to hear him. He got his answer when the door slid open and Padme walked in. She was wearing a very formal gown, one of the dresses he had made fun of her for stocking on her panic ship. The dress was silver, and the material shone so brightly it gave the appearance of polished metal. The bottom half of the dress poofed out so much that she had to push it in so she could fit through the door. Once she was through, though, it sprung back to its original position. In contrast to the bottom half of the dress, the top half consisted of minimal material. It was low cut and clung to her torso, accentuating and showing off her cleavage. Her arms and shoulders were bare, although it was hard to tell with her shoulders because her long hair was completely covering them. Her blond hair was poofed out, matching the appearance of the bottom half of her dress. She had also added something to it that made it glisten and shine as it reflected the light.

He was stunned by how beautiful she appeared and couldn't help but stare. A voice inside his head was telling him not to stare, as it was making him look bad, but he couldn't force himself to look away. She noticed him staring, understood why, and blushed with embarrassment.

"I just came down here to check on you." She stared at his undershirt as she spoke. "I was informed the seamstress needed to construct an outfit for you." As she talked, she looked around. "I just came down to see if you were okay with it."

"Well, if I wasn't okay with it, it would be too late to change things now." As he looked at her, he kept thinking about how nice she looked all made up and dressed elegantly. "I think I owe you an apology for making fun of all the clothes you had on your ship. I'm sorry for the jokes I made. I was completely ignorant of why you would need them. It seems I am ignorant of a great many things."

"Don't beat yourself up so much, Anakin." Padme's voice was extremely sympathetic. "I'm a royal, and there's a great many things I am ignorant of." Anakin could tell she was saying that just to be nice and make him feel better.

After looking all around the room, she finally spotted what she was looking for. In his frustration, Anakin had taken off the jacket, thrown it to the ground, then kicked it under an armchair. Padme finally spotted it and walked over to pick it up off the ground. She did her best to try and brush off all the lint it had picked up from the carpet.

Seeing her with the jacket, a thought occurred to Anakin. "Did you figure out I was going to have trouble with that?"

"Yes, but it's not because I think poorly of you." Padme sounded much more defensive than Anakin felt she needed to. "My father used to let me do up his jackets for him, so I know how difficult they can be. If you come over here, I can help you with this."

Anakin walked over to her, took the jacket, and put it on. As he did that, Padme stepped up onto the armchair. "You're so tall, I have to stand on the chair to reach your chest." As she did up the clasps for him, her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"This is how I had to do it with my father, standing on the armchair I mean. That wasn't because he was so tall, it was because I was so short then." She quickly wiped a tear away from her eye.

When they had connected before, while playing cards, she had been thinking about her parents. He had read her thoughts and learned much about her personal history, such as how old she had been when her parents died. She was but a young child, left to navigate the world on her own.

After finishing with the clasps on the jacket, Padme looked up into Anakin's eyes. He could read that she was thinking about her parents, and what they would be thinking about the attempt she wanted to make to liberate her planet.

"I think your father would be proud of what you are doing."

"I would certainly hope so," she began. "I failed to prevent my world from being conquered in the first place, the least I can do is find a way to take it back."

"I think we have all the people assembled here we need to do that." Anakin did his best to sound confident, but his true feelings betrayed him. He was racked with doubt, and he knew Padme was sensing it.

"Well, it's probably time for us to go and find out if that is true." Trying to be playful to change her mood, Anakin put his hands on her waist and lifted her off the chair. The squeal turned into a hearty laugh as he placed her on the ground. Anakin marveled at how light she was. She felt fragile to him, and it scared him to think what could happen to her.

Through their connection, Anakin could feel the moment of levity changed her mood just a little bit. He wished he could do more so she could push away the sorrow she was feeling.

After walking out of the room, Anakin wondered how he was supposed to close the door. Padme reached out and pressed the button to close it for him.

"Threepio is with you, isn't he?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Because I might take him back from you. I could use a protocol droid to explain things to me."

"I really don't think he would accept that."

"What do you mean? He's a droid, he has to do whatever he is told."

"I think he would find a way to get out of it, even if he had to kill himself."

"He would really do that? He thinks that bad of me?"

"He called you the most boorish oaf in the entire galaxy."

"The entire galaxy? This is the first time he's ever been beyond Tatooine."

"It's a reasonable inference." Padme had to suppress a smile. Anakin didn't mind the teasing, as it helped lighten Padme's mood. "Hold out your elbow," she said. He did as she requested, and she grabbed a hold of his arm. "I hope you don't mind being my escort?"

"Of course not. It will be an honor to walk in with the most beautiful woman in the galaxy on my arm."

As Anakin didn't know where to go, Padme had to lead the way. She led him to a large foyer, where there were an army of servants waiting for them. Padme simply nodded to one of them, and they ran off.

"That servant is going to fetch Bail and Sheev. They will be here shortly." When Padme looked around, Anakin did as well. He could see that Captain Olie, Lieutenant Tarsals, and Obi-wan were all there. The three of them fell in behind Padme and Anakin.

"Do you really want me up front with you?" Anakin asked.

"Of course," Padme replied while giving Anakin a big smile. "You're the hero of the moment, you deserve this position."

It finally dawned on Anakin they were missing someone from their group. "Where's your sister?" he asked Padme.

"I thought it would be best for her to stay in her room," she replied. "It's too dangerous for us to be together at all. If there are assassins who know about this meeting, and they were to attack us, our planet would lose its final two royals. I have actually arranged for her to be sent away from here."

As Anakin peered down the hall, he could see the group of dignitaries that was coming to greet them. His attention was immediately caught by the extremely tall alien walking in the center of the group. He guessed this was the Kaminoan representative who had come to explain the abilities of the clone army to them.

After staring at the Kaminoan long enough, he diverted his attention to the two men leading the group. One of the men was dressed in regal attire. He had olive skin, jet black hair, and appeared to be middle-aged. Anakin guessed he was Bail Organa, the king of Alderaan. The other man looked to be much older, at least twenty to thirty years older than Bail. He had silvery hair that looked thin and ratty. He was wearing a rather large, plain black robe. Anakin could tell he was not one who worried much about his appearance. Anakin guessed he was Senator Sheev Palpatine. The group behind them were composed mostly of aides dressed like Bail Organa, although there were also a few soldiers covered from head to toe in battle armor. Anakin couldn't help but wonder if those soldiers were the clones.

Bringing up the rear of the group was the blue-skinned alien Jango Fett had told them about. While he was in the back of the sea of people, his distinct skin color and red eyes made him easy to pick out. He walked with an air of authority that made it clear he had been born to be in the military. It would remain to be seen if he was truly the tactical genius Jango claimed, but from the look of him, Anakin was inclined to believe it.

When Organa and Palpatine reached Anakin and Padme, they halted for introductions. An Alderanian servant stepped into the space between them. "Bail Organa, the king of the Alderaan, is pleased to welcome all guests to his lake resort." With the opening remarks completed, Bail nodded to the servant who quickly took his leave. Anakin couldn't quite understand why there appeared to be so much pomp and ceremony for a discreet meeting where they had extremely important business to attend to. He wished they could set all these formalities aside and get right to the heart of everything. He also wished someone had bothered to explain to him all the rituals that were going to take place so he would know what to expect.

"It is my pleasure to welcome you to Alderaan, Queen Amidala," Bail did his best to sound pleasant, but there was a heaviness in his voice because of the situation they were facing. "I have been following the plight of your planet and people ever since I heard of its invasion. I invited you here to offer you any assistance I can. I was told of your situation by Sheev Palpatine, the distinguished senator from Kamino. The second I found out I could do something to help you, I jumped at the chance. Despite my willingness to help, this is not really my summit. Senator Palpatine is here and is anxious to put together a plan to liberate your planet."

"Thank you for allowing us to take refuge here in our desperate hour of need," Padme said in reply. Despite not being connected to her, Anakin could feel just how tense she was. "Senator Palpatine, I can't express the relief I have that you are coming to the aid of my people. For years, you have been showing an immense amount of courage and foresight by trying to warn everyone about the dangers the Separatist warlords have presented. You have been proven correct, and I am overjoyed that you have lost none of that courage."

After finishing with Palpatine, she turned her attention to Bail Organa. "Bail, I am pleased to meet you for the first time. I have to admit, given your reputation as a pacifist, I was shocked to see you were willing to host this summit, given that we are looking to do battle and potentially start a war that could engulf the entire galaxy."

The expressions of Palpatine and Organa changed remarkably when Padme broached the unspeakable subject. They both adopted expressions of seriousness, although, the seriousness came with a sense of determination. Bail spoke up to state his thoughts. "As you know, for years, I have been leading the cause for restraint against the warlords, as I had believed a diplomatic solution could be obtained. The invasion of your planet was a revelation to me. It is clear there is nothing that will stop the ambitions of these warlords other than a response in force."

"I am glad you have come to see the light, King Organa," Padme said. "While I am anxious to liberate my planet, I have serious reservations about what we are doing. I think it is clear to all of us that if our actions were to instigate a galactic war, we could find ourselves branded war criminals rather than heroes."

Anakin flinched as he hadn't realized he would face such branding. While his flinch was obvious to himself, he was hopeful that no one else had noticed it. It seemed like that was the case, as all eyes were on Senator Palpatine.

"I would not worry about being branded war criminals by our own government," he said. "I have been in the Senate a long time. It is full of craven and cowardly politicians. They all understand war is necessary and inevitable but are too cowardly to admit it. I have always cherished democracy, so it pains me to have to admit that a small group, such as the three of us here, must make a momentous decision for the multitude. There are times where the brave must make the decisions for the cowardly."

Anakin had to do his best to suppress smirking. Palpatine had just said everything he had been thinking ever since he learned of Padme's plight. It was amazing to think a leader such as Palpatine could exist in a body of such pathetic politicians. He was marveling so much at Palpatine, he almost missed Bail's words.

"The galaxy has reached a point where it is going to find itself controlled by the decisions of a small handful of people one way or another. The warlords have decided they intend to take control of the entire galaxy unless someone stands up to them."

"It is really not all the warlords as much as it is just one," Palpatine added. "Hego Damask is the one who has been the grand manipulator behind all this. I have been reluctant to say so until now, but he is the one pulling the strings behind all this. He is the one who convinced the Neimoidians to invade Naboo. That is why we need to attack him here and now. Give him a defeat that will cause some of the Separatists to question their alliance with him."

"I am glad that unpleasantness is out of the way." A wave of relief came over Padme as she spoke. "Now, perhaps we can start determining what military assets we have at our disposal for the liberation of my planet." She paused for a moment to glance at the tall Kaminoan and the line of troops in the back. "We are here because of your clone army, Senator Palpatine. I think I speak for everyone who came with me when I say we are anxious to see what they are like."

Palpatine was all smiles as he turned around to look at the troops in their army. "Take your helmets off," he said to them. The four troops obeyed the politician, removing their helmets to reveal their faces. They were all identical to each other as well as identical to the face of Jango Fett. They appeared younger than Jango, but there was no mistaking the resemblance.

"I can guess you were all skeptical as to whether or not the clones were real," Palpatine said as he looked over the Naboo group. "I hope you are relieved to see that yes they do exist. I have brought one of the architects of the army, Nala Se, here to explain the abilities of the clones and the numbers that we have at our disposal. While their numbers might be small, I believe we will be able to put together a plan that allows us to liberate your planet with the low number of troops we have at our disposal. My tactician has been working on a plan."

Upon being mentioned, the blue-skinned alien moved from the back to stand next to Palpatine. Instead of looking at him, Palpatine stared directly at Anakin. "You must be the remarkable pilot that came to the aid of the queen when she was in desperate need of assistance above Tatooine."

"Um, uh, yes, that is me," Anakin stammered.

"I apologize for not introducing all of you to Anakin Skywalker," Padme said. Her voice was gushing with the admiration she had for him. The admiration also showed on her face as she looked up at him. "Not only is he an adept pilot who took out two capital ships all by himself, but he is remarkably strong in the Force. While it was his piloting abilities that saved us when we arrived on Tatooine, it was his abilities in the Force that allowed us to escape the planet."

"Yes, I heard the rumors about what he did, and I found them unbelievable." Everyone was surprised to hear the blue-skinned alien speak perfect basic with a strong tone of authority. They knew he was from the Unknown Regions, yet despite that, he had picked up the language foreign to him.

With all eyes on him, the alien stepped forward, staring hard at Anakin. "I would like to speak with you about what you did to escape Tatooine. If you could repeat it, I think we just might be able to put together a plan for breaking the blockade and landing the clone troopers on Naboo."

"You must be the brilliant tactician we have heard so much about," Padme said. "I can't express how pleased I am to have you aiding us."

"The pleasure is all mine, Queen Amidala." The alien made the most perfect bow Anakin had ever seen. He held it for a long time before finally standing up straight again.

"You don't have to be so formal with me," Padme replied. "Especially when we skipped the formality of introductions."

"My apologies for the oversight, Your Highness." The alien acted flustered. It was a sign he was trying to take all the blame for the break of protocol. "I have worked with Senator Palpatine a long time. I often found it pointless to give my name, as Mitth'raw'nuruodo is quite a mouthful and hard for everyone here to remember. I eventually found a way to shorten it to something that is much easier for your kind to say and remember. From here on out, you may call me Thrawn."

"Well, if introductions are out of the way, we should get to the heart of the matter. Bail has a conference room ready for Nala to give her presentation and explain the clone army to all of you. While we are doing that, Thrawn can speak privately with Anakin and your Jedi."

 **...**

When the foyer emptied out, Obi-Wan and Thrawn went over to speak with Anakin. Thrawn nodded to Anakin before turning his attention to Obi-Wan.

"You must be the Jedi of the group," Thrawn said. To Anakin, he sounded much more collegial and less authoritative than he had before.

"Yes, I am. I apologize that I cannot give you my name, but my Order requires us to be anonymous."

"Yes, during my time in this region I have picked up on many of the customs of the various groups that are non-existent in my portion of the galaxy. My species, the Chiss, has a warrior caste which practices anonymity in the same manner yours does. However, they do it for much different reasons than your order does."

"I've never heard of the Chiss before, have they had much contact with the Republic?" Anakin asked.

"No, they have not, which is why I was sent here. The only contact we have with the Republic is through the trade we do with smuggler groups. The leadership of my species has been looking at making official contact, so I was sent here on a fact-finding mission. Traveling was difficult, as I had to employ some rather unsavory smugglers to transport me. The journey was difficult, but it ended up working out for the best. I was with a small group of smugglers right as they found themselves going to war with the Hutts. I led their meager forces to a victory over the mercenaries employed by the Hutts, and in doing so caught the attention of Senator Palpatine. He brought me into his employ as he knew I would be a valuable asset in the war he believed was coming."

"Yes, we heard about your tactical brilliance from Jango Fett," Obi-Wan said. "It appears you are in charge of constructing a plan for utilizing our meager assets to liberate Naboo."

"Yes, I am. This is what I wanted to discuss with you. Jedi, you had a good look at the blockade around the planet both when you arrived and when you fled. Anakin, you were able to use the Force to simply push away the dreadnaughts trying to block your path when you left Tatooine. My question for the two of you is, I have a plan that starts with the Naboo cruiser returning to the planet and landing a small strike team on the surface. It is a team that will include the two of you, and I intend for it to get past the blockade by Anakin simply moving ships out of the way for you to speed through. Is this plausible?"

"I believe so," Obi-Wan answered. "I saw the density of the ships around the planet. If Anakin can move six ships around, like he did outside Tatooine, it will be enough to get us through and to the surface."

"I am glad to hear that," Thrawn replied.

"Did you really need to bring us out here just to discuss that?" Anakin asked.

"In fact, I did not," Thrawn replied. "Palpatine wanted me to talk with you privately to discuss something a little more delicate. The truth is, he is not as adamant about liberating Naboo as may appear. The clone army is an asset that is not easily replaceable, thus he wants more assurance that the invasion can succeed. The strike team is going to have its work cut out for it, and much of its success will rely on the abilities of the two of you, especially you, Anakin. We are truly counting on you to be worth more in a fight than even the most powerful of Jedi."

Thrawn's words did not elicit the slightest hint of fear in Anakin. He knew what he was capable of, and he relished the opportunity to do it. His boldness had freed his friends from slavery, and he knew a similar amount of boldness right now would free Naboo.

"I don't think that will be a problem," Anakin said.

"I'm glad you feel that way, but the Senator is not willing to go off your word alone. He would prefer a demonstration of what you can do." Thrawn turned his attention from Anakin to Obi-Wan. "Jedi, the Senator would like you to put together some exercises that would allow Anakin to display his abilities for everyone. Once the events of the day are over, would you be able to assist me in that."

"Yes, I would," Obi-Wan replied.

"Good, once Nala is done with her presentation, I will give mine explaining what I have put together so far. I will tell everyone that in order to complete my plans for the strike team, I will need several demonstrations of what Anakin can do. I will claim ignorance of Jedi powers as the reason for needing a demonstration. Once Anakin proves to the Senator how powerful he is, he will not hesitate to agree to the invasion."

"I'm just curious," Obi-Wan began. "There must be Force users in your region of the galaxy. Are you aware of them?"

"We are aware of Force users," Thrawn replied. "There are children who are able to utilize the Force. We make use of their ability as pilots, but no matter what we do, our Force-users are never able to keep their abilities beyond childhood."

"It makes sense," Obi-Wan said. "Without proper training, they lose the ability to harness the Force."

"It appears that Anakin is a truly remarkable exception, then." Anakin did his best to keep from beaming with pride over Thrawn's words.

 **...**

The doors to the conference hall opened as Nala finished her presentation on the clones. Thrawn, Obi-Wan, and Anakin filed inside. There was an empty seat at the table next to Padme, and she motioned to Anakin to take it. When he sat, he simply nodded to her to indicate everything was okay. The Jedi took a seat across from them, while Thrawn stood at the front of the room. He waited until everyone was quiet to begin.

"I should not have to tell anyone here that our resources are limited. In order to overcome that, I have put together a plan that utilizes every asset at our disposal. While we can't amass the size of forces our opponent has, what we can do is better utilize what we do have and exploit the innate weaknesses of our opponent. To begin, I thought we might peruse some Neimoidian art. I know it might seem an odd way to start, but just bear with me, I will explain everything."

As the shades covered the windows and the lights dimmed, several holographic images of art appeared hovering over the center of the table. Thrawn cycled through them, describing each one in detail. When he was done describing them individually, he explained the overall theme of the art. "All the art I have shown you is lacking in originality. Nothing the Neimoidians do breaks the mold. Doing something like that requires risk, and taking risk requires courage, something the entire race is decidedly lacking. What this means for us, is if we can make the Neimoidians feel the proper amount of fear, they will flee. That is a trait we are going to use deception to exploit. The most difficult task we face is breaking the blockade. We have a strong clone army that can defeat their droid army if it can just make it to the surface of the planet and land safely. Thanks to Bail's generosity, we have enough freighters for their transport, but we don't have any warships to break the blockade. That does not matter, as we will use deception to make the Neimoidians believe we have more powerful assets at our disposal than we really do."

Thrawn stared directly at Anakin as he spoke. "While we don't have warships, we do have a very powerful Force user. For anyone who doesn't know, Anakin was able to manipulate several dreadnaughts and move them out of the path of Queen Amidala's Naboo cruiser when she escaped Tattooine. While his power won't be enough to break the entire blockade, all we require of him is to get one ship through. He will take the Naboo blockade runner with Captain Olie, Lieutenant Tarsals, and the Jedi. They will lead a contingent of Alderanian special forces supplemented by clone troopers. All Anakin will have to do is move enough ships out of the way to get their single ship through. It will be a display of Jedi power the Neimoidians will remember. It will still be on their minds five days later, when our fleet arrives. Bail Organa has been gracious enough to provide us with a fleet of tow ships. The tow ships will have their tractor beams modified so they can either pull in a ship or push it away. Their job will be to maneuver ships in the same way as the Anakin did. This will cause the Neimoidians to believe they are facing off against a fleet full of Jedi. They will panic, and immediately jump to hyperspace to save their own skin. Once the ships are gone, our transports will be able to reach the surface of the planet."

Thrawn paused for a moment to see if there were any questions then. When there appeared to be none, he continued. "When our ships head to the surface, the Neimoidians will be able to triangulate their destination and rush forces to the landing spot. The droid armies are centrally coordinated from Theed. This coordination is both a curse and a blessing. It is a curse, because the central coordination and the ability of the droids to act like a singular herd allows them to converge quickly on any given location. It is a blessing, because it means that if we can knock out this central control, all droid forces on Naboo will be shut down. I know some of you might have been thinking we would need a million troops to defeat the entirety of the droid army, but all we have to do is land enough troops to take Theed."

"As I mentioned a moment ago, landing the troops on the surface will be difficult given the ability of the droids to swarm to their landing location before they even reach it. The purpose of the strike team will be to converge on the landing area themselves and eliminate the droids swarming there. The strike team will not be landing with enough numbers to do this themselves. This should not be a problem, as we expect they will find a vibrant resistance army on the planet. The Naboo have always had contingency plans in place for foreign occupation. They stocked secret hideaways and instructed their troops to flee to them in the event of invasion. We have been monitoring Federation communications coming from Naboo, and they have revealed this resistance has been extremely active. The strike team should find all the troops they need to clear a landing spot for the clone troops. Once the clones land, the army can advance on to Theed. The Federation will move to have all their droids converge on the capital, thus the clones will have to move fast to seize the Neimoidians central control before the droids can reach the city. While I missed Nala's presentation, I talked with her previously about the abilities of the clone troops. I have no doubt they will give us the swift victory we require."

Thrawn made a full scan of the table before he finished. "I hope this plan meets your approval, Queen Amidala. If you have any objections, we can either discuss them now, or set a time to discuss them in private later."

"I think everything sounds great," Padme replied. She sounded confident, but her voice did not convey what she was truly thinking. While she approved of the plan, she knew it was a large gamble. They were making a lot of assumptions that everything would go as planned. If just one aspect failed, the whole mission would fail.

"That is the basics of the mission, but there are still many fine details to put together." Thrawn looked around to make sure everyone was still paying attention to him. "I would like to put together a detailed battle plan for the strike team, but I need more information in order to do so. Being ignorant of the powers of Force users, I have requested a demonstration of the unique abilities Anakin possesses. The Jedi will be helping me set them up, and Anakin will run through them tomorrow afternoon. Any one who wishes to observe them with me is welcome. Once I have an assessment of his abilities, I will be able to put together a detailed plan for the strike team."

"It appears everything is on track." Bail sounded enthusiastic as he spoke. "If this planning meeting is over, then I think we can move on to dinner.

The walls of the conference room moved aside to reveal it was part of a large, grand hall. The table was at one end, and there was a large open floor at the other that a small orchestra was occupying. They began playing, serenading the dignitaries with music as the servants brought in dinner.

Sheltay Retrac was seated near Padme and Anakin. When the servants started bringing in the food, she leaned over to speak to the queen. "The entrée for tonight is a traditional Alderanian dish. I remembered when you were here as a young child, you did not like it at all. I hope you don't mind, but I instructed the chef to make something from Naboo for you. You will still have a small portion of the Alderanian dish, so you can see if your tastes have changed over the years."

"Your memory must truly be remarkable if you can recall something such as that," Padme replied.

The meal ended up being an elaborate seven course meal. Anakin was thankful that each course came out slowly. While he was so hungry, he felt like wolfing everything down, he knew he had to be mindful of his table manners. He did his best to eat slow.

When the entrée came out, Anakin saw that Sheltary Retrac had been correct. Anakin was watching as she took one bite of the Alderanian dish, and immediately acted like she wanted to spit it out. She swallowed, doing her best not to turn her nose up. She moved it to the side of her plate to hide it as she ate the Naboo dish instead.

After everyone had finished with desert, the band stopped playing. The platform they were on floated back. Anakin expected them to step off, but they stayed right where they were. They seemed to be waiting to start up again.

Everyone at the table quieted down as Bail Organa walked over to occupy the spot where the band had been just a moment earlier. A few people were still talking, so Bail raised his arms up to make sure they understood they were to silence themselves. They stopped talking immediately when they saw that.

"I want to start out by saying I am very pleased with the way this meeting went. I think we have devised a mission plan for conquering Naboo. To that, we owe our gratitude to Captain Thrawn, so let's all give him a hand." The alien nodded to everyone as they gave him a polite applause. When it was over, Bail turned his attention to Padme. "Queen Amidala, I hope that you are pleased with the decision Senator Palpatine made to recruit me to this mission. I was honored that he selected me, and I worked hard to try and prove to you that he made the right choice. I fear darkness could soon fall over this galaxy, and I hope this may be the beginning of not just an alliance, but a friendship in which we aide each other and help each other through any hardship that may befall us. Padme, I don't know how to explain how amazed I am of the heroism you showed in escaping your planet, making your way here, and risking everything to try and conquer it back from its occupiers. You are a credit to your people, and an inspiration to everyone in this galaxy who believes in freedom and liberty."

A spontaneous applause broke out, one which Bail quickly joined. Padme seemed a bit embarrassed over it, but everyone kept it up for a long time. When Bail stopped clapping, everyone soon followed.

"While my focus has been on the mission at hand, I have not forgotten the need for hospitality. While we face a situation of extreme gravitas, that does not mean we cannot take a moment to put everything aside and try and enjoy ourselves. I know you have been through much, Queen Amidala, and you deserve at least one night where you can set aside your problems. That is why I have put together a formal ball, starting now. I have invited some of the most trusted noble families of Alderaan. They are waiting outside. Now, if you will join me for the first dance, we can get this started."

Anakin glanced over to Padme. She was enthusiastic as she walked over to where Bail was standing. Anakin thought she might have been reluctant about celebrating at a time like this, but from the way she was acting, she seemed to agree with Bail. She needed a moment to set aside and forget everything.

When Padme reached Bail, she put her hand on his shoulder as he put his hand on her waist. They clasped their free hands together as they looked into each other's eyes. They held the pose until the band started playing. After the introductory notes were done, they started dancing. At that moment, the servants threw open the doors of the hall. The Alderanian nobles who had been waiting outside entered the room and immediately joined Bail and Padme on the dance floor.

While several other people got up from the table to dance, Anakin stayed seated. The dances appeared to have steps to them, and since Anakin didn't know any of them, he thought it best to stay off the dance floor. He had a good time just watching the others dance.

 **...**

After a few songs had played, Anakin felt he was being watched. He turned around to see Soala standing in the doorway. Since she was dressed casually, Anakin figured she wasn't there to attend the ball. He felt bad she was being left out of everything and thought she might want to talk to someone.

"I didn't think your sister would let you come down here," Anakin said when he reached her.

"She didn't exactly give me permission," Soala admitted. She looked around Anakin to locate her sister, then shifted so that Padme wouldn't be able to see her through Anakin.

"If you need me to shield you, you could have just asked."

"I don't need you to shield me." Anakin knew Soala's defiance was a lie. "I'm not afraid of her." Soala was doing her best to make sure Anakin was blocking Padme's view of her, betraying what she was saying.

"Did you come down here just to watch everyone else?"

"I came down here to say good-bye." Soala sighed as she replied.

"Good-bye? Where are you going?"

"Someplace where no assassin can find me. That is the most I can tell you, because apparently, I can't be trusted with the location of my sanctuary. I might betray myself, or something." She shook her head as she sighed again. "My sister is being paranoid. She's really going too far this time. She's been doing this for years. Sending me away to one place after another so we can never be taken out together, in the way our parents were. I should have known the two of us being caught together in the invasion would do this to her. I was only home for a week vacation, but it turned out to be the wrong week."

"I feel sometimes like I barely know my own planet. The people certainly don't know me. Well, everyone in the military does, as my portrait is hanging in every military office. The regular citizens, they don't know me at all. During my last summer holiday from boarding school, Padme permitted me to spend a whole two weeks on the planet. Almost every night, I snuck out, and found some club to go to, or some party to attend. No one recognized me at all. For the first few nights, it was amazing. I got to party like a regular schlub. Eventually, though, it got on my nerves. No one knew who I was because I had never done anything. My sister made endless personal appearances, but I never did, as I was never even on the planet."

Soala paused for a moment as she got choked up. "Once again, I'm being sent away. You know, if you guys succeed, our history is going to remember you for liberating the planet. And all those history books, if they mention me at all, they will have to admit I was on holiday, lounging on a beach while everyone else was fighting and dying."

Once again, she looked past Anakin to glare at her sister. The look of disgust on her face was palpable. Anakin feared Padme would feel it, and he turned around to look at her and see if that was true. She was finished dancing with Bail and was talking with him. She seemed to feel Anakin looking at her. She met his gaze and smiled at him. She said something to Bail before she started to make her way over to Anakin.

Fearing for Soala, Anakin turned around to tell her to leave, only to find she had already disappeared on her own. "What are you doing over here?" he heard Padme ask him. "You're not trying to run away, are you?"

"Of course not," Anakin replied as he turned back around to talk to her. "I just thought, uh, I saw Obi-Wan walk by. It just turned out to be a waiter."

"I think he's busy getting everything ready for your exercises tomorrow. Do you know what they are going to have you do?"

"No. Probably exercises I'm not familiar with, so I don't know how exactly I am supposed to perform them."

A look of amusement came over Padme's face. "I know a way you can get some practice at doing things you've never done before."

Anakin sighed as he looked over Padme's head at all the people out on the dance floor. "You want me to dance with you, don't you?"

"Yes," she said as she held out her hand for him to take. Anakin took a suspicious glance at it.

"I thought men were supposed to ask the women to dance?"

"Normally that would be right, but I am a queen, and I can do. . .I mean, I can demand that anyone do whatever I want." She spoke in a haughty tone, but it was all in good fun. She continued to hold her hand up, waiting for Anakin to take it. "Don't you want to dance with me?" she asked when he failed to take it.

"Um, I don't know the steps to any of these dances."

"Don't worry, I will show you what to do."

Anakin took Padme's hand and let her lead him out on to the dance floor. As they walked past the other dancers, Anakin looked at what they were doing. "I don't think this is going to work."

"Stop worrying," Padme was getting exasperated with Anakin. "I will show you what to do in my mind, and you will be reading it."

The two of them stopped and Padme maneuvered Anakin so that she was across from him. They each had their arms stretched out in front of them as they clasped hands. "Just look in to my eyes," she said.

Anakin stared into Padme's eyes, and soon felt emotions that he knew were not his own. They were connected once again. Padme smiled at him as an image appeared in his mind of what the first move was. It was his job to lead, so he needed to start. He made the move as he took a deep breath, and Padme followed his lead.

They danced with ease as Padme showed Anakin exactly what he needed to do. It was more than just Anakin following Padme's instructions. The connection was so strong between them, she almost seemed able to control his body.

 **...**

The two of them stayed out on the dance floor for a long time. Other couples came and went, but the two of them never took a break. They hardly noticed that not only did the dance floor clear out, but the hall emptied out as well. By the time the band was done playing, they were nearly alone in the hall. There were just a few Alderanian diplomats left along with the servants cleaning up the place. The two of them needed a moment to compose themselves as they both felt exhausted and fatigued. Padme was even sweating, something a royal woman was never supposed to do in public.

"It looks like we should be leaving," Padme said as she looked around.

"Do you want me to walk you to your room?" Anakin asked.

"I'm staying in the building on the other side of the lake."

"Why did they put you all the way over there?"

"Because I requested it. If anyone were to find out we were here and attack this place, they would concentrate all their forces on this building. Being across the lake, I would have a chance to escape."

"And you would just leave us all here to die." Anakin tried to keep a serious expression, but he couldn't do it. He burst out laughing.

"I'm pretty sure if anyone attacked this place, you would be able to fight them off and save everyone."

"And yet, you chose not to stay here under my protection." A mischievous thought occurred to Anakin. "Perhaps you thought you would not be able to control yourself sleeping in such proximity to me."

Padme rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "In case you forgot, I controlled myself very well sleeping just one floor up from you back on Tatooine."

"You controlled yourself? That's not the way I remember it. You had to get out of bed several nights to see me."

Padme's eyes rolled back into her head so far Anakin wondered if they would be able to find their way out. "You're greatly misreading what that was all about."

"Am I really?" Anakin arched his eyebrows as he talked.

"You know, I was going to ask you to walk me to the ferry, but now, I'm not so sure."

"Please, let me escort you," Anakin presented his arm for her to take. After taking his arm, they walked outside to the deck that bordered the lake.

"The air feels great out here," Padme commented. A cool breeze was sweeping over the lake and hitting them. Given how hot she had gotten while dancing, Padme appreciated the breeze cooling her down. She tilted her head back to let the breeze run over her face. It did much to cool her down.

Looking over at Anakin, she noticed he was sweating as well. She reached up and brushed away a bead of sweat, connecting with him as she did. He could feel she wanted to kiss him but feared someone would see them. In their shared mind, she apologized to him.

Wanting to take in more of the breeze, she walked the two of them over to the ledge. She leaned on the banister while she looked out at the lake. The banister was too low for Anakin to lean over, so he simply stood and looked out at the lake. "It's really beautiful how the moonlight is reflecting off the water. I've never seen anything like it before."

"Have you ever seen a body of water like this?" Padme asked.

"No."

"What is the largest body of water you've ever seen."

"I don't know, probably a bathtub full of water."

"A bathtub of water?" Padme couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Didn't they have pools on Tatooine."

Anakin gave her a look that indicated she should have known better. "I know you didn't get to see much on my planet, but you've should have known the place didn't contain luxuries like that."

Padme felt bad about seeming out-of-touch. She looked away from him and went back to staring over the water. As she did so, a thought occurred to her. "So, if there were no pools on Tatooine, did you ever go swimming."

"No, I never went swimming."

"So, you never got to learn, then."

"I thought that was kind of implied when I said I had never swum before." Anakin wondered why Padme was pressing the issue so much. It didn't take him long to come up with an answer. "I'm not going to be expected to swim on Naboo, am I?"

"From what I know of the plans, no," Padme replied. "My planet contains a lot of swamps, but none that you will have to swim through. You might have to wade through deep water, however."

"That, I can do. Although, it wouldn't surprise me if Obi-Wan wants me to swim tomorrow."

"If you want, I could teach you to swim. You'll be free in the morning, it would be good for you to make use of the time."

It took Anakin a moment to realize she was serious. When he did, he needed to think up a quick excuse for declining the offer. "I would love for you to teach me, but I don't have a swimsuit."

"I am sure the Alderanians can supply you with one. I'll arrange for it myself when I reach my suite."

"Okay, what about you? Do you have a swimsuit with you?" From the look on Padme's face, Anakin could tell she didn't want to answer. "You have a swimsuit packed on your ship, don't you? The panic ship, the one that was supposed to be stocked only with items you need to survive."

"You know what, this meeting here should have made you realize that I require all kinds of outfits, even in a situation like what I am facing now. When we first met, you questioned why I needed all those dresses, but you just saw why I needed them. Things like a swimsuit are no different. Besides, the thing barely takes up any space."

"Oh, really." Anakin smiled from ear-to-ear as he arched his eyebrows at Padme.

"You're really getting the wrong idea," Padme rolled her eyes as she replied.

"Okay, I'll accept your offer. If for no other reason than to see you in this swimsuit."

"You really know how to make this difficult." She shook her head as she talked. "Come on, let's go."

She led him to the end of the deck where the droid ferry stood. After stepping on it, she told him what time he should come over to her room the next day.

"Where is your suite?" he asked.

"Don't worry, when the time comes, you'll know how to find it." The ferry took off. As she floated away from him, she had a sly, mischievous smile on her face. Anakin had no idea what that was about.

He stayed on the deck until she was out of sight. As he made his way back to his room, he felt elated. He was lost in his thoughts when he entered his room. It barely registered when he heard someone greet him. "Welcome back, Master Anakin."

"Threepio?" Anakin was so startled he screamed the droid's name.

"I hope I didn't scare you. Is everything okay?" Anakin had to turn his head away as he laughed. He couldn't believe Padme had unloaded the droid on him. Now he understood why she was smiling when she departed. He shook his head as he understood her cryptic words to him.

"Threepio, you know where Padme's suite is, don't you?"

"Yes, I was just over there serving her."

"Great, cuz you're taking me over to her place tomorrow morning."

"Oh, am I going to be working for her again?" The excitement Threepio was feeling came through loud and clear.

Anakin replied as he made his way to his bedroom. "If I have a say, yes, you will."

 **...**

The next morning, Threepio was extremely nice and attended to Anakin's every need. He figured the droid was doing it out of fear that if he misbehaved, he wouldn't get sent back to Padme.

He was in the middle of breakfast when an Alderanian servant delivered the swimsuit Padme had requested for him. After showering, he put it on and found it fit perfectly. He grabbed one of his own tank tops, so he wouldn't have to walk around shirtless. When he was ready, he had Threepio escort him to the landing for the ferry. Anakin figured it was still on the other side. Threepio approached the console to call it back over but didn't have to as it appeared in the middle of the lake. Princess Soala was on it.

"Hi, Anakin," she yelled to him. "My sister told me she was teaching you to swim this morning."

"What were you doing over there? Were you saying your final good-bye to Padme?"

"Kind of," Soala answered. "She wanted us to have breakfast, to talk a little before I left."

"I hope that went well."

"It didn't. I couldn't exactly stay silent about how I feel being sent away. She didn't listen to me." She stepped off the ferry and joined him on the dock.

"If I agreed with her, I would say it, but-" Anakin couldn't quite bring himself to vocalize a criticism of Padme. Soala apparently didn't need to hear it. She gave him a tight hug, pressing her cheek against his chest.

"Good luck," she said when she broke the embrace. "You guys are really going to need all the help you can get. That's what stings so much about being sent away. You need as many people helping out as you can, and yet, Padme won't let me do anything."

Anakin could have been misreading the situation, but he could have sworn Soala was trying to say she wished she could join them on their mission to Naboo. She started to walk away, and he felt the need to say something.

"You know, I could try and say something to your sister on your behalf."

"Please don't do that," Soala replied as she turned around. "I like you, and you've been really good for her. Because of you that stick up-" Soala abruptly stopped as she noticed Threepio was standing right there. She thought better of saying something so disparaging in front of the droid. "Have a good time swimming," she said as she hurried away.

Anakin and Threepio boarded the ferry and rode it to the other side. Upon reaching it, Threepio led them through the building to Padme's room. He knew the code. When the door slid open, Threepio walked inside, but Anakin stayed out in the hall, too tentative to enter. He was scared about walking in on her unexpectedly. He leaned inside and called out her name several times. When he heard nothing, he walked inside.

"I do not see Queen Amidala around," Threepio said. "Perhaps she has left for the morning."

"She wouldn't do that to me," Anakin said. "Why don't you make yourself useful and start tidying up the place."

"Gladly." While the place looked perfect to Anakin, he knew the prissy droid would find more than enough wrong with it.

With the droid now occupied, Anakin started conducting his own search for Padme. The apartment seemed empty, so he glanced out to the deck. He didn't see her out there either.

The realization came to him that he could try and establish their connection. He closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, and immediately was able to feel the touch of Padme's mind.

 _Where are you?_ he thought, knowing she would read it.

 _I'm swimming._ Anakin walked out on the deck and looked out to the water. He could see her head bobbing in the water.

 _The water feels great. You're going to love it._

Anakin kept his eyes on Padme as she swam towards him. She swam until the water was only waist deep for her. When she stood and emerged from the water, Anakin could see she was wearing a bikini. It was navy blue with white polka dots and decorated with frills. While it was far from skimpy, it showed off her svelte figure.

She gave Anakin a big smile as she walked out of the water. As she walked, she rung the water out of her blonde hair. "I was half-expecting you to stand me up on this."

"I would never do that," Anakin said as he gave Padme a mischievous smile.

"So, are you ready to get started?"

"Sure." As Anakin removed his shirt, Padme did her best to act like she wasn't staring, but she gave a subtle reaction that made it clear she liked what she saw.

"Come on, take my hand," Padme said. Anakin took it as she led him to the edge of the lake.

Padme could feel Anakin getting apprehensive the moment his feet touched the water. Along with the apprehension, there was another feeling. She had trouble making it out. She had to look over at him and read his face. She could see the signs of elation on it. He seemed to be trying to hide it, but it was there. He was excited by the prospect of getting to swim for the first time. He was getting excited like a little child would, and was embarrassed about it. She was feeling it now. He was a grown man embarrassed over feeling like a child for a moment.

Sharing in Anakin's excitement, Padme led him out deeper into the water. Given that she was a good head shorter than him, she lost her footing before he did. She had to let go of his hand. She treaded water by simply kicking her feet, maneuvering herself in front of Anakin so they were facing each other.

"Can you feel what I'm doing?" she asked him. Anakin nodded his head as he looked downright fearful. Padme had to keep from laughing. The man had faced great danger in his life, he was training to face great danger, and yet, he was horribly scared over a little water.

"I want you to step out, so you are no longer able to stand. Just stay afloat by copying what I am doing. Just like the way we danced last night. You just have to read my mind and do what I am telling you to do."

"How about instead of stepping out, I just kick my feet out and tread water here?" Anakin asked.

"Okay." Padme didn't like the idea of him having the safety net of being able to stand. She couldn't help but thinking he was acting like a scared child. She kept thinking over and over that he was being ridiculous. She was hoping he would read her mind and learn what she was thinking.

She could feel the disturbance of the water as Anakin started kicking his legs and floating. She felt elated as she was thrilled he was doing something. The thrill left her quickly as Anakin gave up early and stuck his feet back on the ground.

"Okay, let's do this my way," she said to him sternly. "The only way you are going to learn is if you are out deep and can no longer stand. So, just do what I told you earlier, start walking out until you can no longer feel the ground, then start treading water and don't stop."

Anakin started stepping out until he had to struggle to keep his head above water while his feet were touching the ground. "Start treading water," Padme had to command. He did as she told him, but only kicked intermittently in order to keep himself afloat. He kept stopping and letting himself fall back down until he felt bottom, then he pushed himself up again.

"I don't want you to rely on being able to touch the ground from time to time." Padme realized she was going to have to take some action. "Take my hand." He was hesitant but obeyed. "Okay, I'm going to gently pull you forward so you can't stand in the water." She swam back and tried to pull him forward, thinking he would let her. Instead, he stood his ground, and walked back until he was standing with his head above water. She tried to pull him to stop, but instead, he pulled her all the way into his body. She had to hold her hands against his massive chest in order to avoid crashing into him. Her heart skipped several beats and her breathing became labored as she was overcome with passion for him. Anakin was feeling the same thing. He had his arms wrapped around her, holding her as close as he could. He bent his head down to try and kiss her, but she rebuffed him by turning her head away.

 _No Anakin, not out here. Someone might see us._ He let go of her, and she swam back and away from him.

"Let's pick up where we left off." She held her hand out for him to take again.

"Don't worry about that. I can come out on my own." He pushed himself ahead. He was now out where he could no longer stand. He was kicking his legs to tread water and was just doing an okay job of it. Padme treaded water across from him, offering him words of encouragement.

"You're doing great, just keep it up." Despite Padme's words, Anakin was not comfortable. He kept fearing that his legs would give out, and he would fall beneath the surface, unable to get his head above it. Having Padme out with him didn't offer him much comfort, as he knew she wouldn't exactly be able to pull him up by herself.

Overcome with fear, Anakin's Force reflexes took over as he pushed away all the water around him. Padme let out a yelp as the two of them fell to the ground. Once they overcame their initial shock, they looked around at the water whirlpool they were in the center of. Through the Force, Anakin was pushing away the water all around them to create a dry pocket for the two of them.

Padme looked around in wonder, marveling at what Anakin was doing. She could see the fish swimming through the water. Some of them were getting close to the edge of the whirlpool, and she feared they might try and jump out.

As Padme looked around, she soon spotted an Iko fish. It was a large fish with many fins with scales that were a multitude of pastel colors. They were fish that were only found on Alderaan and were well known throughout the galaxy for their beauty. In times past, they were popular pets, until it was learned they did not live long off their home planet. No matter how much people tried to recreate their habitat on Alderaan, they could never quite get it right. They were abandoned as pets shortly after Padme had been born. When she was young, she had desperately wanted one. Her parents did their best to explain to her why she could not have one, but she could never quite accept it.

Having the fish in front of her right now seemed like restitution for not getting it as a pet. She was finally getting the sight she had always desired as a child. The Iko fish was hovering in the water, slowly advancing towards the edge of the whirlpool. Padme held out her finger to the water's edge, and the fish came up and kissed the tip of it.

Padme pulled her hand back quickly out of surprise. She giggled as she stared at the fish, watching as it swam away. She was thinking of her parents, as the fish seemed to be a sign from them. She wasn't sure why, but she got the impression her parents had been speaking to her through the fish. She felt it was a sign they approved of what she was doing to try and liberate their planet.

Through the connection she had with Anakin, he was able to feel everything she had just experienced, and she knew he had felt it. As she turned around to face him, the thought occurred to her that perhaps she should push away some of the other fears she was having. At the bottom of the whirlpool, they were out of sight, and free to do whatever they wanted out of sight of any prying eyes.

"Thank you for this." Trembling, she reached out and placed her hands on Anakin's chest. A shared surge of passion ran through both their bodies when she touched him. She swallowed hard as she looked up at Anakin, running her hands along his chest to reach his neck.

Through the connection, Anakin could feel exactly what Padme wanted. She was confident no one could see them. Given her previous fears, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Yes." Her voice was soft, but sultry as she spoke. She pulled his head down so that their lips could meet. They were both trembling as they opened their mouths to kiss deeply.

They broke the kiss briefly as Anakin wrapped his arms around Padme and lifted her up. The feeling of their bare, wet skin pressed together gave them each an ecstatic sensation. When their lips met again, they went at it with even more passion.

With the feeling of ecstasy taking over, Anakin lost the concentration in the Force that was creating the whirlpool. The water crashed down around them, and Anakin's Force reflexes took over once again. He created a large and powerful wave that swept them up and pushed them through the water. It deposited them on the shore of the lake. Padme was laughing as she laid on the shore with Anakin on top of her. He was still using the Force to create waves that showered them with water.

As he looked up at Padme, Anakin marveled at how he had gotten there. He was staring at what had to be the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, and she was looking back at him with an expression that left no question what she wanted.

"There could be people watching us now," he tried to tell her.

"I don't care," she said as she grabbed his head and pulled it towards her once again. They kissed for what felt like an eternity. While they were kissing, Anakin flipped them around, so he was on top.

Padme broke the kiss as she wanted to tell Anakin what she was feeling. "I never knew it could be like this. Nobody ever kissed me the way you do."

"Nobody," Anakin said in reply, staring down at her.

"No, nobody." The water was still being propelled by the Force and hitting them with waves. Anakin leaned down and started kissing her again.

"Oh my, what's wrong with the water," the prissy voice of Threepio took Padme and Anakin out of the moment they were feeling. They had to stop kissing as they looked up at him. "This is a lake, the water should be calm. Why is it creating waves like that?"

The waves ended as Anakin stopped controlling the water with the Force. "It was just me using my Force powers, Threepio. It's nothing to be worried about."

"Oh, that is delightful to know." The droid continued staring at the water, even though the waves had stopped. "You didn't have to stop the waves on my account."

"It's okay, the moment's passed." Anakin looked down at Padme to see she agreed.

"I think that's enough for this morning," she said as she stood. She rung the water out of her hair as she walked away. "You can escort Anakin back to his room."

"I will do that Mistress Padme," Threepio replied. "Do you want me to come back to serve you when you are done."

"No, stay with Anakin."

Threepio waited until Padme was out of sight before he turned to Anakin. "I thought I was supposed to serve her from here on out."

"Trust me, Threepio," Anakin began. "You're not the only one suffering from horrendous disappointment right now."


	6. Return to Naboo

**Chapter 6: Return to Naboo**

After the way his time with Padme ended, Anakin found it therapeutic to use his frustrations to fuel his channeling of the Force as he went through the exercises Obi-Wan had arranged. They started out small, with Anakin simply lifting one object after another. They started by the lake, having him lift rocks and fallen tree trunks. When that proved to be easy, they took him to the resort's shipyard. He lifted one ship after another, starting small, but working his way up to the largest transports there.

The entire time he was doing his exercises, a droid camera was hovering around, recording everything he did. Palpatine and the other politicians and military leaders were out of sight but watching everything through the camera. When Anakin had proven all he could by lifting things, Obi-Wan moved on to Force-jumping. He had Anakin jump in place while channeling the Force. The heights Anakin reached were amazing to him. He quickly got bored, though.

After the jumping, Obi-Wan had him repeat the very first exercise he had been given. He practiced deflecting blaster bolts with his lightsaber. They started out with a single Alderanian soldier shooting at him and kept adding one after another until he was blocking the shots from seven soldiers. After that, the soldiers lined up in a circle and shot at him. This exercise was much more difficult, as he had to learn to both deflect and avoid the bolts. He avoided getting hit by a single shot.

The final test was a very extensive exercise. It was set-up to be an exact recreation of an attack they believed Anakin might have to make during the invasion. They had assembled, on an open field, an army of obsolete droids, mostly protocol droids, all armed with blasters. Anakin was to jump the large distance from the lake to the field, coming down in the middle of it. He would then have to take out the large army of droids all by himself. He tried to ask Obi-Wan what he should do, but the Jedi simply told him to trust his instincts. Anakin took that as a huge vote of confidence. He knew that previously the Jedi had feared Anakin's instincts would lead him to channel the dark side, but that fear seemed to be gone.

Several of the droids had been outfitted with cameras, so the politicians could monitor everything. Obi-Wan gave Anakin some final instructions as he walked with him out to the deck of the main building. Anakin was hardly paying attention to him, as he was trying to look across the lake to see if he could spot Padme. His spirits soared when he saw her out on her deck. She was just a faint dot, but he could see her, nonetheless. He reached out with the Force, and soon felt her thoughts and feelings.

 _You're doing great, Anakin, keep it up._ While she wasn't with the others, she was still following everything. She was watching from her suite, bursting with pride over what she had seen.

"From here, just jump to the field, and destroy the army of droids. It's just obsolete protocol droids, so it shouldn't be too hard, but there are a lot of them. And remember, they all have blasters. They are set to the lowest setting, so they will just sting you, but it will still hurt. Good luck."

As Obi-Wan began to walk away, Anakin realized there was one thing he had neglected to tell him. "Uh, where's the field I need to jump to?"

"Use the Force to figure it out," Obi-Wan replied.

"How am I supposed to do that? I can't feel the droids in the Force."

"You'll just have to find another way."

Not knowing what else to do, Anakin figured he should try to channel the Force. He closed his eyes, and reached out with it, repeating what he had done on Tatooine. He connected with everything around him. As he did so, he could feel all the animals around him, and they were avoiding one particular spot.

Figuring that was the spot where the droids were, Anakin knelt before leaping high into the air. He flew through the sky, and when he was high enough, he could see he was heading for the right spot.

When he came down right in the middle of the army, the droids starting firing at him. As they were not programmed for war, their shots were errant. However, there were so many of them that a good number ended up being aimed right at Anakin. He blocked all of them with ease as he contemplated what to do. He remembered how he had been able to Force push entire groups to the ground before. He channeled the Force to do it and knocked down every single droid in the field.

As he looked around, he saw some of the droids were trying to stand. He wasn't sure what the people watching him back in the control room expected, but he figured they wanted to see more than just the droids knocked down. He knew that on Naboo the battle droids would not give up so easily. Anakin searched around for the droid closest to standing. With the aid of the Force, he rushed over and sliced it. He searched out the next droid closest to standing, doing the same thing.

After slicing up five droids, Anakin was startled to see several fighters coming his way. He was stunned to see them, as Obi-Wan had made no mention of fighters. He soon realized that was the point, to throw something unexpected at him to see how he would react. He didn't know what else to do, other than to grab them with the Force, and hold them where they were. They tried to fire at him, so he had to turn them all around, so their guns were pointed away from him.

As he kept the fighters hovering in mid-air, he continued to go around and slice up the droids that looked like they still had some fight in them. It was hard to multi-task and keep his concentration, but he managed.

 **...**

The fighters hovering in mid-air were visible from the lake. When Padme saw them, she felt elated over what Anakin was doing. More and more, she was believing the mission would be a success, all because of him.

All of the servants in the resort who saw the hovering fighters wondered what was happening. They knew a Jedi was among the group that had come to the resort and figured he was behind it, they did not realize Anakin was more powerful in the Force and was the one actually doing it.

Princess Soala was in the middle of packing when she saw the fighters. She stopped and went to the window to gaze at them. The servants helping her stopped what they were doing as well.

"Is that the Jedi?" one of them asked.

"No, it's someone else," she replied.

 **...**

After slicing up five more droids, Anakin noticed they were all still. At first, he thought they had figured out moving would just get them a lightsaber to the chest. He soon realized they had been completely deactivated.

"You can return to the lake." The voice of Obi-Wan was coming from one of the droids. He had been watching everything with the rest of the politicians. Knowing the opinion of Palpatine was the only one that mattered, Obi-Wan had his eyes solely on him. The man was hard to read, but the curled lip on his face indicated he was pleased with what he saw but trying to hide it.

"You've done a marvelous job training him, Jedi," Palpatine said to Obi-Wan.

"He didn't need much training," Obi-Wan replied. "He has a natural and instinctive ability in the Force that has never been seen before." While Palpatine had been doing his best to remain stoic and reserved, Obi-Wan could tell he was absolutely overjoyed to hear how strong in the Force Anakin was.

Anakin made it back to the lake in a single Force aided leap. No time was wasted after Anakin landed. Everyone assembled once again in the conference hall to discuss the finalized plan for the mission that had been constructed.

 **...**

While all the dignitaries were assembling in the conference hall, Princess Soala was being escorted through the resort by Captain Antilles, the personal pilot for Bail Organa. He was going to fly her to the undisclosed location where she was to hide out during the invasion.

"We are in no hurry to leave," Antilles told her. "If there is someone you would like to say good-bye to one last time, we can do so."

"I'm okay," Soala replied, simply. She had said everything she wished to say to her sister. She didn't need one more awkward good-bye. For a moment, she thought about going down to say something to Anakin. She wanted to thank him for his kind words earlier. She refrained from doing that as well, as she figured he was too busy to be bothered for something so small.

 **...**

Everyone was seated around the same table they had sat at before. Thrawn remained standing, as he preferred to walk around as he talked. He was wearing a brand new uniform, that of an admiral. Bail and Palpatine figured that the leader of the mission should be of a high rank, so they commissioned him an admiral in the Alderanian navy. When Thrawn could see that all seats were occupied save his own, he went ahead and began his presentation.

"I thank all of you for coming to this meeting, where I will be presenting our final plan for the mission to liberate Naboo from the Neimoidian Federation. Since my initial proposal, several of the fine details were hammered out. I will be reviewing the entire plan so no one gets lost."

"We are going to be going into this battle with a marked disadvantage in terms of numbers. While we can't amass the size of forces our opponent can, what we can do is better utilize what we do have and exploit the innate weaknesses of our opponent. While Bail has told me not to do this, I feel I must make a declaration of thanks to him. While the Alderanians have meager military forces, he has provided us the use of all of them. For that, he should be thanked."

A warm applause broke out among the attendees. Bail held up a hand to quiet them down, and they all obeyed. "Providing you my forces was the least I could do. I believe wholeheartedly the warlords need to be checked immediately, or else, the galaxy will suffer major consequences." He was going to make a gesture to hand the floor back over to Thrawn, but he soon thought of one more thing he wanted to add. "Since I have everyone's attention, there is one last thing I would like to mention. I am providing special forces for the strike team headed by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi."

Anakin took note of the fact Bail had used Obi-Wan's name. Kenobi had broken Jedi anonymity with Bail, for some reason. "On Alderaan, we have rules that our troops can only be led by Alderanian officers. In order to avoid breaking those rules, I have commissioned both Obi-Wan and Anakin as generals in the Alderanian army. So, let's take a moment to congratulate General Skywalker and General Kenobi on their new positions."

The table burst out in applause for the two. Finding out he was now a general was quite a surprise for Anakin, but he was not focused on that. He was looking at Obi-Wan, wondering why the Jedi would take the commission. To him, it appeared to go against what he knew of the Jedi code. Obi-Wan had broken anonymity to take the commission, he guessed. He doubted the Alderanians would have approved of commissioning an unnamed Jedi. The second problem with the role of general was hierarchy. If they were both generals for Alderaan, did that mean they were serving Bail Organa, now?

The applause lasted a while as everyone wanted to congratulate the two. When it finally died down, Thrawn continued with his talk. "The strike team that Generals Skywalker and Kenobi will be commanding will travel to Naboo aboard the blockade runner that Queen Amidala arrived on. It will be on Skywalker to use his powers to get them past the blockade, but given what we just witnessed, I have little doubt we need to worry about that part of the plan."

"Once the Naboo ship lands, it will have to round up as many forces as it can. We have intercepted Federation transmissions from the planet that indicate there is a strong resistance on the planet. It appears to be disorganized, but it has been active. The landing party must meet up with this resistance and utilize them to protect a landing area for the clone troopers. The landing party will have five days to assemble their forces. At a pre-planned point in time, our makeshift fleet will enter the system. We will have nothing but freighters and tow ships, but it will be enough. The tow ships will have their tractor beams modified so they can either pull in a ship or push it away. Their job will be to maneuver ships in the same way as the Jedi did just two days earlier. This will cause the Neimoidians to believe they are facing off against a fleet full of Jedi. They will panic, and immediately jump to hyperspace to save their own skin. With the ships gone, our transports can land on the fields outside Theed, then march on the city and re-take it. Once the central control of the droid army is destroyed, it will all be over."

Thrawn paused as he looked around the room. Anakin could tell he was looking to see if anyone had any questions. While he had one himself, he was too scared to ask it. He was in an unfamiliar setting, and he didn't want to ask a dumb question and make a fool of himself.

"Can we really count on the Neimoidians fleeing like you expect?" Anakin recognized the voice of Sheltay Retrac. "The Neimoidians might be fearful and easily spooked, but no admiral is going to give a command to flee and leave their ground forces completely exposed."

"I agree with you; no commander would give such an order." A couple guffaws ran out from the table. "Fortunately, I am not counting on any such order being given. While Neimoidians are not known for their individual initiative, an exception can be expected when their lives are in danger. Each captain will freak upon the belief they are confronting an army of Jedi and take their ship into hyperspace to avoid death."

Thrawn stared at Sheltay for a moment to see if she had any more questions. The fact she had the gumption to ask a question gave Anakin the courage he needed.

"I do have one question." Anakin's voice was unsteady, but he soon found some resilience. "We know little about the resistance, little about their location. You said that from what we know, the resistance consists of many small, disorganized groups. How are we supposed to locate them all and unite them in the time frame we have been given?"

"A very good question," Thrawn began. "Given that the Naboo people live on a planet with a hostile population, they have always been prepared for all contingencies. As part of their preparation, they have an encrypted radio system for communication. When you arrive, you will utilize this system to contact these groups."

"From what we know, it appears these groups are not utilizing these systems." Anakin was not shy about pressing the issue further. "If they were, we would not have several disparate and disorganized groups. Instead, there would be one large group coordinating attacks against the Federation forces."

Thrawn answered Anakin. "From what we can surmise, the groups have failed to unite because despite their ability to communicate, no leader has emerged to unite them. You and Obi-Wan will be sent with a message from the queen to indicate you come with her blessing. They will unite behind you."

"That is merely an assumption," Anakin countered. "You have no idea how people will actually respond to a message coming from the queen that they cannot verify for themselves."

"I know my people, Anakin." Padme's tone was pleasant, but everyone could tell she was annoyed Anakin was questioning this issue. "They will know my voice, and they will believe it. They will understand you and Obi-Wan are my emissaries, and they will follow you."

Feeling he needed to be assertive and take command of the meeting, he stood up from his chair and walked around. He figured he was likely breaking every protocol of the meeting, but he didn't care. Given his background, he could always plead ignorance. He clasped his hands behind his back as he walked, as he figured it helped him look authoritative.

"Queen Amidala, and all other distinguished members of this panel. I do not doubt that you are all experts in your given fields, but from what I understand, I would assume that none of you have been in the kind of situation facing the resistance forces on Naboo."

Anakin paused briefly as he debated whether to bring up his past. He was fearful of revealing the uncomfortable truth to everyone, but he felt it was vital to make his point. "I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this, but I grew up a slave on Tatooine. Despite that, it was not all bad. I had a mother who loved me very much, as well as a stepbrother and stepfather. The four of us did our best to carve out what happiness we could, but when I was eight, my mother and stepfather were sold to a band of pirates. I did not nothing, despite feeling I possessed the power to try and save them. They were scarcely gone a week when we received word that they had been killed with the destruction of their ship."

Pausing once again, Anakin looked around to see the reception his words had so far. He could see looks of sympathy on most faces. He was doing his best to remain stoic, despite the nature of the story he was telling.

"After the death of my parents, I knew I was going to have to do something to free myself and my stepbrother. It took me years to formulate a plan, as our slave masters could kill us with the mere press of a button. I won't go into all the details of what I faced, but I soon learned the only way I would earn my freedom was if all the slaves in my city stood together and we all fought our slave masters as one. I went about recruiting others to my plan, and it took a long time as I had to be remarkably careful. I had to learn who I could trust. Telling the wrong person my plan would have meant death if they ended up going to my slave master and revealing what I was planning. This was the danger that was faced by all of us. Everyone I brought into my conspiracy faced the danger of death if our plans were ever discovered. Earning their trust was difficult, but my brother and I accomplished it because we had the same skin in the game they did."

"The resistance forces on Naboo are facing a situation very similar to what I experienced when I was trying to free my fellow slaves. They are in a dire situation, surrounded by forces that will not hesitate to kill them if they are discovered. While they might want to unite with others, they must be weary of who to trust. Revealing themselves to the wrong person means death."

"This is what we are going to be facing in trying to unite the resistance forces. All of you can sit here on another planet, safe and sound, and claim that when they hear your message, they will believe everything you tell them. I attest that the situation they are in will cause them to be paranoid. They will wonder if the Federation has discovered how to use your encrypted communication system. Padme, they will doubt that the message you send them really comes from you. No matter how much the voice sounds like you, they will question it. Even if they believe it is your voice, they will wonder if it is a trap. For all they know, you could have been captured and forced to record that message. And as for the presence of Obi-Wan and I, they have no idea who we are. They have no reason to follow us, to trust us. I don't think the two of us alone will be able to inspire them to fight like we need them to."

"So, what are you proposing then?" Padme's voice contained a weariness that indicated she was agreeing with Anakin's pessimistic assessment and wanted answers on how to overcome it.

Anakin took a deep breath as he appeared hesitant to answer. "What they need, is to see a leader who has come to join them. One who has come to have the same skin in the game they have. One who will face the same fate should everything fail. Instead of relying on a message, you should rely on word of a royal return. Once a single resistance group sees a royal has come to their aide, word will spread quickly throughout the rest of the other groups. I believe they will trust eyewitness accounts of a royal return. Once we contact one group, we can send out messengers. Hearing word from other resistance fighters that one of their leaders has returned will earn us their trust and inspire them to fight. That is what I believe must be done, Your Highness."

Padme hung her head as she wondered if she could truly do what Anakin was suggesting. While everyone in the room agreed with what Anakin was saying, they felt Padme, as the planet's sovereign, couldn't put herself in danger like that. They also knew Padme couldn't quite say this herself.

Bail Organa ended up speaking up for her. "Anakin, while there is much truth to what you are saying, it is impossible for Padme to do what you are asking. She needs to be with us, coordinating forces, and negotiating a surrender with the viceroy when the time comes. I am sure she would be willing to put herself in danger, but if anything were to happen to her, it would be chaos."

"I agree with everything you are saying." Anakin kept his hands clenched behind his back as he took a short bow in Bail's direction to show his respect for the royal. "Maybe I should have been more specific with my words, but I never intended for Padme to join our strike team. I understand she is needed here. However, there is another royal who can fill the role we need, Princess Soala."

Now, murmurs of disbelief rang out through the crowd. "Princess Soala!" Bail Organa was incredulous. "She is but a child."

"She is only two years younger than me." Sounds of surprise rang out through the room as they were surprised to find out Anakin was so young. Given his immense size, everyone believed he had to be much older. Anakin ignored the noise and continued. "And might I remind you, she will not be alone. I give my word to the queen that I will not let any harm come to her sister."

From the look on Padme's face, Anakin could tell she was furious with him. She was not going to accept his proposal. From the looks on everyone else's face, they seemed warm to the idea. Padme was going to have to find some good arguments to keep her sister from being sent on the mission.

"She may be close to your age, General Skywalker, but she is in no position to be fighting a war."

"If you remember back to Tatooine, Soala was quite exceptional with her handling of a blaster."

Padme's anger grew, and it made her look even more attractive to Anakin. "We should not be forcing her to go."

"No one will be forcing her. In fact, I know she wants to join us. I talked to her, and she expressed displeasure over being sent away. She knows this mission, if successful, will be long remembered by the people of Naboo. She does not want the history books to record that she was hiding when her planet needed all the help it could get."

"She is on her way to an undisclosed location. It is too late for her to come back. Her ship should be on its way by now."

"Radio the ship and recall it."

"They are flying in radio silence, so no one will know who they are carrying. It is too late."

Anakin had enough of Padme's protests. It was time for him to act himself. He closed his eyes as he calmed himself and reached out with the Force. He knew what he was capable of, and he knew he could bring the ship back. Reaching out with the Force, he was able to locate the ship flying away from the resort by sensing the Force presence of its inhabitants. Knowing where the ship was, Anakin was able to reach out and stop it, holding it in place.

 **...**

"What happened?" Captain Antilles yelled. He was filled with fear as the ship stopped abruptly. "How did we stop? It must a be tractor beam, but there's no other ship on the scope."

"We're not caught in a tractor beam, we're caught in a Force hold." Unlike the captain, Soala was feeling no fear at all. Instead, she was feeling joy. She knew it was Anakin who had a hold of the ship, and she had a good idea why.

 **...**

A short while later, Soala was sitting at the table in the conference hall. Thrawn was repeating the mission plan once again, spending extra attention on the exact role she was to play in it. At the end, she was asked if she wanted to join the team. Padme jumped in to tell her that she was free to decline, and that if she did no one would think any less of her. Soala paid little attention to the words of her sister. She enthusiastically agreed to go.

 **...**

The strike team assembled the next morning. It was a reunion of sorts for Obi-Wan, Anakin, Olie, Tarsals, Soala, and most importantly, R2-D2. They had decided to take the droid along in case they needed his hacking skills.

Right before they left, Padme said a long good-bye to her sister. She told her to be careful and implored her to stay close to Anakin and never leave his side. He had promised to watch out for her, and she had great confidence in him. Soala agreed to stay close to Anakin, although she still believed her sister was being overprotective.

While Anakin would have appreciated a moment alone with Padme, he knew they were not going to get the chance. The two stared at each other, and they could soon feel their connection form.

 _The princess. I need you to take care of the princess._ Padme spoke to Anakin in her mind.

 _I will guard her with my life. I would rather die myself than come back here without her._ Padme received Anakin's reply through the connection.

Padme knew that everyone was watching as they stared at each other, so she had to say something audible to him. "I have confidence in you," she said to Anakin. Her thoughts were saying what she really wanted him to know. _I love you._

Anakin read her thoughts but kept his expression stoic. He didn't want to give anything away. "I know," he said to her before turning back around and climbing aboard the ship.

 **...**

When the Naboo blockade runner exited hyperspace, there was a moment of relief among the strike team. While they had just entered a system that presented them with danger, they were relieved their journey was coming to an end. The ship had been cramped with all the troops on it. The cramped confines led to meaningless conflicts, except for the clone troopers. Their quarters on Kamino had been even more cramped, so what they had on the ship felt like a luxury to them.

The relief the team felt quickly dissipated when the capital ships blockading Naboo appeared in front of the cockpit. The strike team leadership was gathered in the cockpit together. Except for Anakin, they all grew fearful seeing those ships again. They could remember how close they had come to death when they escaped.

Olie was piloting, with Tarsals siting in the co-pilot's seat. Anakin and Soala occupied the two seats behind them, with Obi-wan standing over Anakin's shoulder. Olie mapped out a route for them to reach the area on the planet they were aiming for. When the navigation was complete, he turned around to speak to Anakin.

"It's time for you to do your thing. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be," Anakin replied. He closed his eyes as he concentrated.

Everyone in the cockpit was staring at the warships in front of them. They were now close enough to be in range of the first line of ships, and they started firing at the Naboo cruiser. The shields were blocking everything, but they would not hold forever. They needed Anakin to do something quickly.

All at once, every warship in front of the Naboo cruiser started moving as if they were being pushed by invisible hands. Not only were they being pushed away, they were being turned around, so they couldn't fire at the ship.

Anakin was lost in the Force. The power he was feeling was immense. The Force presences he was sensing were innumerable. Most of them were near, but he could feel there was at least one that was distant, maybe even light years away. As he concentrated on it more, he soon felt the familiar touch of Padme's mind.

 **...**

Padme woke with a start. The feint light of the moon was reflecting off the lake and into her suite. As everything looked quiet, she sat-up in bed trying to figure out what had caused her to wake. Not seeing anything, she tried to think what she had felt right when she woke. It was then that she noticed she was connected to Anakin. Somehow, it had formed across the great distance they were separated. She felt a great deal of relief to know they had made it past the blockade and were on their way to the surface of Naboo.

 **...**

The warships didn't launch their fighters until the cruiser had passed them. Olie watched the display as it tracked the fighters lining up behind them. The display showing the rear view was full of robotic fighters. Just as Olie was going to yell to Anakin to do something, he saw them being pushed around. Anakin was moving them as if they were nothing more than gnats.

Olie could feel when they reached planet's atmosphere and knew at that moment, they were safe. The warships and fighters were not designed for atmosphere flying and thus, could not follow them. He doubted they would face any of the planetary defenses, as he doubted the Neimoidians would bother to man them. They would have figured their blockade gave them all the protection they needed.

As they continued flying to the surface, they faced nothing in the way of attacks. The landing site chosen for them was a spot not too far outside Theed, in the grassy plains that surrounded the city. Their landing spot would be obvious, and the ship easily found, and that was part of the plan. They knew the Federation would be able to track them, and they figured that by landing close to the city, the Neimoidians would believe they had taken refuge there. Instead, they were heading in the opposite direction, away from the city and towards the thick forests and swamps that encircled the grassy plains.

The second they touched down, the strike team exited the ship and ran towards the swamps. They had all their equipment ready to go and made it out of the ship in a matter of seconds, just as they had planned. In their plans, they figured they had an hour until the Federation was able to triangulate where they had landed and send out a scout ship. Running at full speed, they knew they should be able to make it to the cover of the swamp before the Federation reached their abandoned ship.

They reached the forest without seeing any sign of the Federation. Once there, they found a spot of thick foliage where they could stay hidden. It was only then they stopped to rest. Olie used his tablet to check on the ship and read its sensors. When he first checked he saw the sensors weren't detecting anything, but a mere five minutes later an alarm sounded.

"Something reached the cruiser," Olie announced to all the others. He shut down the connection as he wanted to make sure the Federation didn't track any signal.

Everyone looked to Soala, awaiting orders. She felt uncomfortable with the thought of giving a command, so Obi-Wan took the initiative. He gently reminded everyone that they should be on their way. They all picked up their packs and walked deeper into the forest, heading for the swamps that held the old Gungan ruins where they expected to find a resistance group.

The ruins they were traveling to was an old city that had been abandoned by the Gungans long before the humans ever arrived to colonize the planet. The humans never understood why, but it was considered a cursed place by the Gungans, one they avoided. That made it the perfect hideout for a resistance group. The ruins provided cover from any scout flight, as well as fortification in case they were ever discovered and attacked. Also, with the Gungans aiding the Federation in the invasion, it helped to have a spot where they refused to go.

Tarsals oversaw their progress, and when he saw they were a mile from their destination, he announced for them to stop, just as they had planned. The rest of the plan called for Tarsals and Olie to make their way to the ruins themselves and meet up with the resistance group there while everyone else stayed back. Tarsals and Olie were to check in every ten minutes, and if they encountered any trouble, they were to refrain from radioing, letting the others know they were to assume the worst and leave.

The princess gave the two their instructions before they left. It was nothing they hadn't heard before, but Soala needed to show some leadership, and the two were more than willing to let her build up her confidence and authority. Before they left, they pledged to honor her by completing their mission.

Obi-Wan was in charge of taking their calls. Everyone hovered around him for ten minutes as they anxiously awaited the first one. When it came through, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Being just a mile away, it didn't take them long to reach their destination. Everyone listened intently to that message. "We are at the ruins and have found a group of about twenty." While everyone stayed quiet, they were all feeling disappointed over the news. Given the immense size of the ruins, they had expected a much larger force to have congregated there.

Olie explained why their expectations had been wrong. "A large number of men made it out here. They were anxious to fight, and quickly planned to carry out a hit and run attack against the droid army. They all went, as no one wanted to stay behind. It was an attack that went horribly for them. The twenty men here are the only ones that made it through."

The heart of almost everyone sank as they were dejected by the horrible news. The first resistance group they had come across proved to be nothing close to what they had been hoping and expecting to find. The only person not feeling dejected was Soala. She knew it was time to show some of that royal leadership and inspiration.

"This is just one group," Soala reminded them. "There should be others. Remember, Thrawn told us their intelligence picked up reports of multiple groups making attacks. We just have to find them. Multiple hideouts for multiple groups, that was the plan, so if one fell, there were others to rely on. The only thing we really needed out of this group was initial contact, and they have provided that. The fact we are not finding exactly what we want just makes it more imperative that we move quickly to find and establish contact with the other resistance groups are out there."

Soala leaned closer to the microphone. "Olie, Tarsals, this is Soala. Tell the others there what our plans are and let them know we are going to need volunteers to scout out the other locations and find the other resistance groups. We are coming with the list of locations, and I will converse with you on the scout assignments. That is all. Out."

All eyes were on Soala awaiting orders. "Everyone should have everything together. Let's go."

 **...**

As they neared the ruins, Anakin realized they didn't exactly have any protocols set up for identifying themselves. He figured there would be lookouts watching for them. Everyone expected the lookouts to be discreet, thus, they were shocked when someone simply yelled to them.

"Hello there!" Obi-Wan and the clone troopers all jumped and tried to find the source of the voice. They had instinctively assumed the voice was an enemy, making it a good thing that whoever had spoken was staying hidden.

"I mean you no harm," the voice yelled. He was continuing with prudence as he recognized that simply jumping out from his hiding spot would not be a good idea.

"You can come down from there, this is Princess Soala, and I assure you know harm will come to you."

While Anakin was looking around the treetops for the man, he saw a streak fall from one and hit the ground. The streak turned out to be a young man. From the uniform he was wearing, it was clear he was a member of the military. He didn't look to be very old, though. He looked so young that Anakin was surprised he was old enough to be in the military. It didn't help that he was looking at Soala like a starstruck teen.

"It's really you," he said in a soft voice that Anakin had trouble hearing. "Captain Olie told us you were with them, but I just couldn't believe you would come back here." He shook his head in disbelief. "Follow me."

As they followed the teen, Anakin's head was swelling with pride that everything he had said about Soala's role on the mission was coming to fruition. The man's reaction was showing that Soala's inclusion on this mission was inspiring others just as he had predicted.

"Our primary base is in an old abandoned Gungan transportation hub," the man explained as they walked. "The layout we were left had identified it as a temple. Whoever mapped it out must have thought that only a temple would be that large, or perhaps they just hadn't explored the whole thing, but the structure extends deep into the ground, and terminates at the shores of an underground lake. While the lake doesn't connect to any of the surrounding swamps anymore, it must have at one time."

"So, that would mean the place was abandoned not because of some curse, but because it no longer became convenient for the Gungans to travel to." Anakin said all his thoughts out loud. "If that is the case, then the Gungans might not be as fearful of coming here as we think."

"If they knew we were here, they would have attacked by now," the man pointed out.

Anakin was not reassured by the man's words, but there were more pressing concerns to deal with. When they descended into the underground structure, and Anakin saw the extent of the resistance forces, he realized if the Neimoidians knew the truth about that group, they wouldn't consider it worth attacking.

Looking around the group, Anakin figured he could count on one hand the number of men who must be regular soldiers. All the others either looked too young, too old, or too weak to be a real soldier. It appeared the regular soldiers had been joined by civilian volunteers. It was a situation that didn't exactly bode well for what they had planned.

When the men saw Soala, the half of them who appeared to be military regulars gaped at her in awe. The men who were civilians seemed puzzled by their reaction. When they were told it was Princess Soala, they gaped at her in awe as well.

Olie and Tarsals wasted no time in approaching Soala and telling her everything they had been doing. They told her they had briefed the group on what their overall plan was and what they needed out of them immediately. All the men assembled were prepared to travel all around Theed in order to unite the resistance groups.

Once Olie and Tarsals were finished speaking with the princess, they activated a holograph detailing Theed and the surrounding areas. The three of them started going through the areas where the other groups were likely to be found. They then selected scouts to contact them.

The process ended up being a long one, giving Obi-Wan and Anakin a lengthy amount of time to observe the group assembled before them. Obi-Wan was not impressed with what he saw, and it was apparent from the expression on his face. Anakin did his best to talk to him about it while keeping his voice low, he didn't want the others to find out what their Master Jedi really thought of them.

"So, what do you think of the force we have assembled?"

"Not what I was expecting, not even close. Only half of the men seem to be actual military regulars."

"I admit, they seem a little raw, but I think they will be able to do their job." Anakin couldn't help but make a realization. "All these non-soldiers are in the same position I am. Yet, you're trusting me to fight. Why shouldn't they be accorded the same respect?

"We train soldiers for a reason," Obi-Wan countered. "Very few people have the fortitude to face a dangerous situation with the proper level of calmness required. So much of Jedi training, military training is designed to build up a person's courage so they acquire the belief they can handle any situation. People must be trained to remain calm in a crisis. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Military protocols have been developed through centuries of trial and error. Sending out untrained troops is just asking for trouble out of people who have to find out things for themselves that they should have otherwise been taught."

Anakin let out a snicker as he found what Obi-Wan was saying humorous. "I see something completely different when I look at them. I see the group of slaves that I led to freedom. We didn't have any training in anything. We were facing a crisis that you would have considered us to be unprepared for. Yet, we came through with the courage we needed. All the training you insist upon doesn't matter as much as the make-up of a group and the cause they are fighting for. With my group of slaves, we had our lives and our freedom, and these men have the same thing. This is their home, and they all have families here they are fighting for. They may make some mistakes out of ignorance, but it will be negligible. They have something to fight for, and their opponents don't."

Out of the corner of his eye, Anakin caught a glance of the look Obi-Wan was giving him. The look conveyed his skepticism. Obi-Wan's skepticism was of the arrogant kind. Despite all of Anakin's arguments, he still didn't believe that Anakin had the slightest clue what he was talking about. He was a Jedi who had been on countless missions over the years. Anakin had nothing more than a few moments of glory to his name.

 **...**

When all the assignments had been made, the scouts left to partake their journeys. Almost all twenty of the resistance fighters were sent out as scouts. This left just the strike team in the abandoned hub. After the cramped quarters on the Naboo cruiser, everyone was ecstatic to have the room to spread out. It was something they took full advantage of as they dispersed to find places to sleep.

It took just a day for the first scouts to return. They had successfully contacted the groups they had been sent to find and returned with a couple members of that group. The moment each fighter set eyes upon Soala, they practically fell apart in awe that she was truly there. Just as Anakin had predicted, they had found it hard to believe she had returned to their planet but seeing her filled them with a will to fight. They were all anxious to return to their groups and inform them of what they had seen with their own two eyes.

While Soala's presence was having the predicted effect, that was the only thing that was going according to plan. Almost all the resistance groups had the same story, wanting to do something for Naboo, they rushed out immediately to try and fight the Federation. They all suffered the same failure. The intelligence reports were proven correct. While the resistance had been active, their activity had led to their devastation.

Over the course of the next day, more resistance fighters came in with the same story. Soala listened to their stories like a proper stoic royal. She thanked them for what they did and told them she was proud of them taking initiative. Inside, her feelings were much different. She was becoming more and more dejected over the news they were not finding the forces they had expected. Thrawn had told her what kind of numbers they were going to need to successfully carry out their part of the mission, and they had nothing close to it.

There were several moments where Anakin thought he should talk to Soala, but she kept disappearing. It was obvious to him she wanted to be alone. He wished she would take some advice, mainly his, on what she should do. After a while, he told himself that he needed to have the confidence in her that he expected everyone else to show her.

Anakin had been using all the dead time to meditate and try to better learn to channel the Force. He was in the middle of such an exercise when he heard a commotion coming from the main entrance. He ran out to see everyone huddled around the final group of scouts to return. He had to push through the crowd to see precisely what was happening. When he could, he found the scouts had returned with a pair of Gungans and were fighting to keep the other resistance fighters from taking their anger out on the pair.

"They need to see the Princess," one of the Naboo soldiers was yelling. "They are on our side. They have fought alongside us and many of their friends died with us."

Tarsals stepped forward and placed himself between the resistance fighters and the two Gungans. Anakin thought that would serve to calm the angry crowd, but all that happened was they now tried to push Tarsals out of the way in order to get to the other two Gungans.

Anakin knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what. Suddenly, he remembered what Obi-Wan had done when the two of them were facing an angry crowd in the gambling hall back on Tatooine. He hadn't quite agreed with what Obi-Wan had done, but it had been effective. Unable to think of anything else, he decided to try the Jedi method for calming a crowd.

"Enough!" he screamed as he activated his lightsaber and stepped out. The hiss and the hum of the saber instilled fear in the rest of the crowd. They all backed away from Anakin as he took a position in front of the Gungans.

There was fire in his eyes as he stared back at the crowd. The look was a bit of an act, as he was trying to channel the actual anger he was feeling into an intimidating expression. From the looks on the faces on the rest of the resistance fighters, his expression was having the desired effect. They all appeared scared of him as they were unsure of what he might do.

"These two need to speak to the princess," he bellowed. "You need to let us pass."

"That won't be necessary." The voice of the princess seemed to emanate throughout the whole room. There was an authority to her voice that Anakin had never heard before. He looked around at the group and they appeared to be even more fearful of her than they had been of him.

He couldn't see her himself, but the parting crowd made it apparent where she was coming from. When it completely parted, he could see that Obi-Wan was with her. He must have been the one to fetch her.

"Thank you for protecting them, Anakin." Soala looked around the crowd again to make sure they weren't thinking about disobeying her orders.

"I knew you would want to talk to them, Your Highness. Just doing my part." Anakin bowed to the princess as he moved out of the way.

When Anakin looked back at the Gungans, he saw they were staring at the princess in awe. She ordered them to stand and they obeyed her, looking like they were in a trance. "I assume you came here because you have a message for me."

The Gungans took turns speaking, telling her how they were part of a much larger contingent of Gungans who wanted to fight off the Neimodian invasion. They appeared proud of the willingness of their species to join the resistance, but that pride quickly disappeared when Soala started probing them with some questions.

"Has your group of Gungans always been against the invasion?"

"No." While only one of them replied, they both looked incredibly sheepish to have to confess the truth.

"Explain your roles."

The two Gungans clearly didn't want to answer the question, but knew they needed to be truthful if they were going to win the trust of the princess. They explained how almost all the Gungans had participated in some way in helping the invasion force when it arrived. The two of them had served in front line units. They quickly became disillusioned by the actions of the Neimodians and some of the actions of their own leaders. They admitted that part of their disillusionment came from not getting the spoils they had expected. That came first, only after that did they start to understand they should never have attacked the Naboo. They had lived their lives believing they were owed much by the Naboo, but after the invasion, they realized they had no reason to hold the Naboo responsible for anything. They were sorry for ever holding the grudges they had. They realized the error of their ways and were willing to join with the Naboo to expel the Neimoidians, so that the two species might be willing to live in peace together, separate, but side-by side.

"Are all the other Gungans in your group like you?" Soala asked. "I mean, have they all come to the same realizations you have?"

Before the Gungans could answer, one of the Naboo fighters who had brought them in replied. "We were just a tiny resistance group when the Gungans found us. We thought we were dead, but instead of killing us, they told us they were on our side, and that they had a lot of friends. We met up with them and saw they were telling the truth. Wanting to do something for the effort immediately, we charged a nearby hangar. We had little in the way of weapons, but we had enough numbers to overpower the droid sentries and tear apart the fighters inside. It was dangerous, reckless, and almost suicidal. I can assure you the Gungans would not have participated in the raid if they were just participating in some type of ruse."

After hearing from the humans, Soala turned her attention back to the Gungans. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yes, we have the support of not just the swamp Gungans, but the Gungans living in the core." From the look on her face, Soala made it clear she didn't believe what she was hearing. "I know what you must think. The deep core Gungans are isolated, and completely uncaring about what takes place on the surface. Trust me, when they found out about the invasion, and the role of the surface Gungans, they were livid. They feared the Neimoidians would end up invading their space. They were planning their own counterattack when a few of us contacted them for assistance. They are fully on board with any attack against our occupiers."

"So, we have much in the way of manpower, but what about weaponry?"

"We have our Gungan energy weapons. They may not be powerful, but with our numbers, I think it will be enough."

The Gungan did not sound confident as he spoke, and everyone, including Soala, noticed. She appeared deep in thought. "You did well, all of you. I will need some time to consider what I want to do." Before she left, she looked at all the other resistance fighters assembled. "Nothing is to happen to the two Gungans, or the fighters they came here with. Anyone who has a problem with them, better keep it to themselves. Any violation of this will result in the administration of the ultimate punishment I have the power to make."

No one quite knew just what the ultimate punishment was. Their minds immediately went to the worst, so they all trembled with fear as they watched her walk away.

Anakin thought about chasing after her, as he figured she could use someone to bounce ideas off. He wasn't able to, as Obi-Wan came up to talk to him instead. "I saw you took a lesson from me."

"I was desperate, and it was the only thing I could think of." Anakin was half-joking, half-serious. "It ended up being more effective than I had expected."

"So are you willing to accept you were wrong earlier."

"In that situation, I was right to have a problem with what you did. In this situation, I was right to copy you."

"How convenient that you never do the wrong thing."

"Now, you're understanding me." Anakin gave him a sly grin. He could guess Obi-Wan wanted to make a lesson out of the situation, but he was more concerned with finding Soala. He had an idea of what she should do, and he wanted to make sure she heard it.

 **...**

He knew the area Soala had occupied as her quarters and headed right there. When he got there, he found her sitting cross-legged on the floor. She turned around when she felt someone coming up on her. He got nervous for a moment, but upon seeing him, she gave him a big smile.

"Thanks for taking the initiative to come and speak with me. I was hoping I could get some advice from someone." She went ahead and stood so he wouldn't have to look down to talk to her.

"If you wanted to speak with someone, you could have just asked?"

Soala slumped her shoulders as she looked dejected. "I thought about asking but didn't do so because I didn't want to look weak. I didn't want to look like I needed someone to tell me what to do."

"Sometimes the best way to look like a leader is to acknowledge when you need help."

"You've just turned into mister perfect recently. First, you put yourself at great risk to protect those Gungans, thank you for that, by the way. Now, you'll full of insight at just the right moment."

"I wish your sister realized I was as perfect as you do?"

"If we get out of this, I promise I'll do my best to bring her around to my point of view. Speaking of my sister, I was wondering if you have a feeling about what she would do if she were in my situation."

Anakin was a bit taken aback by Soala's question. While he had a close connection with Padme, he didn't think it could match the knowledge Soala had from spending her entire life with the woman. Anakin's mind raced as he tried to think up a proper response.

"While I don't know everything about your sister's view of Gungans, I do know her well enough to figure out what she would do. Given how she never held the Gungan populace responsible for the assassination of your parents, I think she would be willing to trust any Gungan willing to offer their assistance."

"I had that thought as well but trusting Gungans who had nothing to do with the assassination is much different from having to trust Gungans who played a role in the invasion." Soala sighed as she looked off into space. "I really wish I could talk to Padme and get her opinion."

"There is a way we could do that."

Soala was puzzled by what Anakin was saying. "How can we talk to her, we're supposed to be under radio silence?"

"Padme and I can talk to each other without having to use a radio." Anakin did his best to talk softly as he didn't want anyone overhearing him.

Once again Soala was puzzled, but as she thought things over she started to understand what he was trying to tell her. "Can you, can you talk to her through the Force?" Anakin simply nodded his head. "How can the two of you do that? The Jedi said thoughts can't be read through the Force."

"Apparently, those rules don't apply to me." He couldn't help but smile over what he could do and what he shared with Padme. "I don't understand why, but your sister and I, ever since we've met, we've been able to form a deep connection with each other. We can feel each other's emotions and read each other's thoughts."

Thinking back to everything she had witnessed since they met Anakin, Soala couldn't help but giggle. "That explains so much about why the two of you always acted like you did around each other." She shook her head as so many things became clear. "The two of you have something special, is it special enough for you to communicate across the light years of space."

"I was able to connect with her when we first arrived. I was deep in a Force trance then, but I think I could do it now. I think I've learned how to channel the Force enough to do so."

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

Once again, Anakin calmed himself as he channeled the Force and tried to reach out with it. He could feel his presence extending across space. It wasn't long until he felt the familiar touch of Padme's mind.

 **...**

"Welcome back, Queen Amidala," Threepio said to Padme when she walked inside her suite. "I hope your meeting was fruitful."

"Yes, very. Has my dinner arrived yet?" Given all the meetings she was having with everyone, she preferred to dine alone and appreciated the time to herself.

"I checked with the kitchen right before you arrived, and they said it would be here in a matter of minutes. I will wait by the door for them so they can bring it in right away. I would hate for it to get cold."

"Okay Threepio, you do that." The droid didn't seem to understand they delivered the food on a hot plate so it wouldn't get cold.

As she waited for her food, her mind drifted to Anakin and Soala, as it had almost every few minutes. She had been thankful that she had connected with Anakin and been able to sense they made it through the blockade okay. That was days ago, and she knew a lot could have happened since then. She wished she could get some sign they were still okay.

At that moment, her wish was granted. She could feel the touch of Anakin's mind, and she immediately knew he was okay. For a moment, she feared he was connected to her to tell her something was wrong with Soala, but he soon allayed her fears.

 _I am here with Soala. We need to talk with you._

Padme was overcome with emotion upon finding out the two of them were still alive and okay. She let out a sob, which she muffled with her hand, as she didn't want Threepio to know anything was happening.

 _What do the two of you need?_

 _We have a situation here, and we need your advice. I must be truthful with you before I begin. We were able to land safely and make it to our hideout without being spotted. Scouts were sent out to contact other resistance groups, but none of them came back with good news. Almost every resistance group decided to pursue its own war. Raids were made which turned out to be disastrous. The resistance groups were decimated._

Upon hearing the truth of the situation, Padme's heart sank. Given how fortunate she had been since they escaped from Naboo, she figured her run of good luck would go on with no end. She should have known it would have to end some time, and it appeared that time was now. She sent a message to Anakin giving her thoughts.

 _If the forces we need are not there, then we will have to abort. We will find another way to save the planet. Don't worry, we will be able to get you out. We can arrive with the tow ships and clear out an area for you to escape. In fact, a few ships could probably make their way out. That is what you should do. Get the resistance fighters to steal as many ships as they can and make their way off the planet. They will help us if we can make another attempt to liberate the planet._

She was feeling Anakin's emotions, and could tell he did not believe there would be any chance of another attempt to conquer the planet. She could also sense he was telling this to Soala, who was there with him. She could read his thoughts as Soala responded. She didn't pick up everything, but she could tell Soala had the same thoughts he did. She wanted to find a way to fight and complete her role in the mission. The problem was, there was no way for her to do that.

 _There is a way for us to complete our mission. We just contacted a resistance group that had several Gungans with them. Two of the Gungans came here and told us there is an army of them who have come to realize helping in the invasion was a mistake. We could use the army of Gungans to fight the droids and clear the landing area. Soala is conflicted, as she doesn't know if the Gungans can be trusted._

As Padme read Anakin's thoughts, she couldn't help but remember the speech he had given at their planning session. He had mentioned how all it would take for the mission to fail was a single person revealing their plans to the Neimoidians. In an army of Gungans who had at one time cooperated with the Neimodians, the odds were high that there would be at least one who would betray them. Through her connection with Anakin, she could tell Anakin was feeling the same way.

Padme was facing a tough choice. All she could think was that they should abandon the mission and just concentrate on making it away from there safely, but she knew the two of them would never accept it.

A brief smile came across her lips for a moment as she could feel that while Anakin didn't want to recruit the Gungans, he still wanted to go ahead with the mission. He believed he could practically take on the entire droid army by himself.

 _Should I tell your sister not to recruit the Gungans?_

Padme let out an audible sigh as she was conflicted. On one hand, she wasn't sure they could trust the Gungans. On the other hand, she didn't want Anakin and Soala trying to complete their mission with deficient forces. She had to accept the best course of action was to try and trust the Gungans. It wasn't ideal, but either choice presented problems. She just needed an argument to push Soala in the direction she wanted to go.

Anakin was in her mind and telling her trusting the Gungans wasn't their only choice. Their betrayal during the Neimoidian invasion should have proved them untrustworthy to her.

Being reminded of the invasion made Padme realize there was at least one reason they could trust the Gungans. _The Gungans knew about the invasion ahead of time, and none of them warned us about it. They can police their own, they have always been able to do so. They are a society that has tough rules for shunning those who break orders. They will keep their people in line, you can count on that._

While Padme expected Anakin to pass along the information to Soala, he was refraining, as he was dead-set against them employing the Gungans. Padme, through her thoughts, kept pestering Anakin to tell Soala what she wanted. Soala had figured out Anakin was hiding something from her. He started pestering her as well.

"I can tell my sister told you something. Reveal to me what it is?"

Anakin sighed as he realized there was no way to lie his way out of it. "She wanted me to point out to you that before the invasion, none of the Gungans revealed it to you. The species is good at policing their own, any Gungan who goes against their leaders finds themselves shunned."

"So, I take it my sister believes we should recruit the Gungans into our ranks and utilize them as a resource."

"Yes, I guess so."

"Well, if that's settled, then we have to move on to the next problem. Finding a way to arm them."

Through the connection the two shared, Padme was able to hear what Soala was saying. Anakin could feel her shock that they had been discussing utilizing the Gungans when they had no weapons for them.

 _If you don't have weapons, then don't use the Gungans._ Padme was screaming in her mind what she wanted Anakin to relay to Soala. He dutifully repeated that message, as it would lead her to the decision he wanted.

"Shut the connection down," Soala demanded of him.

"And why should I do that?" Anakin asked.

"Because I don't want her to talk me out of what I have planned." Padme knew what Soala said, and immediately she became furious that her sister was now trying to cut her out of the decision making. She desperately wanted to know what Soala was thinking.

"And what do you have planned?" Anakin didn't need any prompting from Padme to ask.

"I want to raid an armory so we can acquire weapons for the Gungans." Padme heard everything through the connection, and she instantly became furious. Her anger was too much for Anakin, and he shut down the connection. He started to feel it was a mistake to talk with Padme in the first place, as he had wanted to talk Soala out of her decision to utilize the Gungans. He didn't like the idea of risking everything to raid an armory, and he tried to talk Soala out of her decision.

"Raiding an armory to equip the Gungans is not what we need. Our forces are scarce, and we should not be risking them like this. You've been spending days hearing about how every resistance group tried to attack the droid armies, only to find themselves decimated when the droids brought in reinforcements and counterattacked."

"Yes, I've been listening to them, and I've learned why they all failed. They didn't have a strong leader making plans for them, but they do now."

Given what Soala said, Anakin got the feeling she was planning on doing something rash. "I'm responsible for bringing you here. I believed in you, but I believed in you simply following the orders others gave you. I don't think we should be deviating from them. We don't have the resources to waste on another raid. If it were to fail, we would not be able to provide the cover for the coming clone army."

"And if we don't have more forces properly equipped, we won't be able to provide the cover they need." Soala no longer sounded like a young teen. She was talking with a gravitas Anakin had never heard before.

"You have me at least. I think you will find that I am all that is needed."

"If you can do so much, then why don't you believe you can make this raid successful?"

"Because I understand my limitations. I don't have a problem attacking when I know reinforcements are coming, but with this raid, it will just be us. Don't count on my help, because I won't be giving it to you.

"You're supposed to be following my orders," Soala reminded him.

"Unless you can find a way for punishing me, then I don't exactly have to follow your orders." Soala got a sly look on her face that conveyed to Anakin exactly what she was thinking. He didn't like the look. He stared at her angrily as he put a hand against the wall and leaned into her. He was trying to look intimidating so she would understand he had no fear of her. "I have no worries about what you might tell my sister. Have you forgotten already that she is on my side with this issue?"

"You made a promise to my sister that you would look after me, protect me, keep me safe. How can you do this if you don't accompany me on this mission."

"In my opinion, the best way to keep you safe is to keep you from going on this insane mission. If I don't go, there is no mission."

Soala gave him a smirk that made her look like a bratty child rather than an adult leader. "You don't have the power to keep me from going. Just because you aren't willing to follow my orders, doesn't meant there aren't other people who will."

In a flash, Soala ducked under Anakin's arm and took off running. Anakin was so stunned, Soala made it to the end of the hall before he even looked around.

"Wait," he yelled as he ran after her.

 **...**

Time and time again, Padme tried to re-establish her connection with Anakin, but she failed. She needed to know what the two of them were going to do. She was beginning to feel despair over the entire mission. It had always been a gamble, one that stood little chance of paying off now. The plan was intricate, and if just one part of it failed, then the whole thing failed. They had failed to find the forces on the planet they had been expecting, and without them the clone troops would never be able to land safely.

As she became filled with despair, tears started to fall down her cheeks. While she hadn't heard the door open, she did hear Threepio wheeling the cart with her dinner over to her. She tried to compose herself quickly, but she was still sniffling when he reached her.

"Is everything all right, Mistress Padme?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, her voice cracking.

"I will never understand human behavior," the droid said as it walked away.

 **...**

Anakin didn't catch up with Soala until she had already reached the main hall of the compound. The eyes of everyone were on her as she walked out into the center of it. Without saying a word, she had the attention of everyone as they all became silent, anxious to hear what their leader had to say to them.

She took her position in the center of the room and looked out at the crowd to make sure all eyes were on her before she started speaking. When Anakin got a glimpse of her face, he could see her gaze was piercing. She was standing with her chest puffed out. It worked in giving her an air of authority.

"I am pleased to have your attention, as I have an important announcement to make to you. After some deliberation, I have decided on the course of action we must take. We arrived here with certain expectations as to what we would find among the resistance groups. I hate to admit the number of fighters we found were not what we expected, not nearly enough for us to carry out the task that has been assigned to us. However, we have benefitted from a godsend of good fortune, by discovering that there is an army of Gungans willing to help us." Soala motioned to Tarsals and the two Gungans when she mentioned them. As she continued, she spoke directly to them. "With your help, I wish to recruit and utilize them."

"We are glad to place ourselves and our people at your service, Your Highness," one of the Gungans said.

"The Gungans can be powerful allies for us, provided they have the right weapons," Soala added. "I am afraid their energy weapons will not be enough for the advanced technology possessed by the droids. I have a plan for eliminating that problem. As many of you realize there are armories full of weapons surrounding Theed. All we need to do is raid one, steal its weapons, and use those weapons to arm the Gungans."

The mood in the room changed instantly upon hearing of the princess's plan. Many of the men assembled in the room had participated in similar raids which had ended in disaster. They were skeptical of her plan but dare not question her.

If Soala picked up on the change of the mood, she gave no indication of it. She was about to say something, when a hand finally went up in the crowd. Anakin let out a breath of relief when he saw the hand belonged to Obi-Wan. He was hoping the Jedi would question her, as just maybe she would be willing to listen to him.

"Your Highness, I understand why you feel the need to carry out such a raid, but I do not understand what makes you believe this one would be successful. Similar raids carried out so far have ended in disaster. The droids are just too adept at rushing reinforcements to any scene of attack."

"I know about the failings of the previous raids, but that is something that can work to our advantage. We have seen why the other raids failed, we can learn from those mistakes, and put together a plan that will be successful. From what I have heard, the previous assaults all failed because there was no coordination between the different groups. What we need is for one force to engage the droid army at one armory, then disappear. Despite their disappearance, the Federation will still rush as many forces as they can to face them. That will leave them unable to reinforce any other armories that are attacked, including the one that I am planning for us to raid."

Anakin was quite impressed by her plan, but Obi-Wan still had some questions. "Are you sure a distraction will be enough?"

"Not entirely, but I think we might be able to utilize a secret weapon in our assault on the armory."

"And what would that secret weapon be?"

A cunning, mischievous look fell over Soala's face as she slowly turned her head to stare right at Anakin. His heart sank as he figured out what was coming next. "As many of you may have heard, we have an exceptionally strong Jedi on our side. Well, he may not technically be a Jedi, but he is an extremely strong Force user, nonetheless. Many of you may have heard of the exploits of General Skywalker. What he did to allow us to safely land on this planet was remarkable. He displayed a power that I hope to harness and utilize on this raid. That is, as long as he agrees to go."

Soala gave him such a piercing glare it made Anakin feel like she was boring a hole in him. He would have liked to know where a power like that was coming from. She was being bold and putting him on the spot. With his promise to watch over her and keep her safe, he knew he couldn't let her go off on this raid without him.

"I will follow you wherever you go, Princess." He did his best to make his reply sound authentic.

Upon hearing Anakin's words, a smirk appeared ever so briefly on Soala's face. "I am glad to hear that, General Skywalker. Now, I will need a moment with a couple members of my command team, Captain Olie and Lieutenant Tarsals, so that we may pick out the target and come up with the fine details of the plan. I will return shortly. Before I go, though, I want you to know that not everyone will be going on the raid. A small portion of you will remain as a back-up force, in case we need to call you in for extraction. General Kenobi, you will stay behind and command this force."

"Gladly, Your Highness." Obi-Wan looked relieved that he wasn't being asked to go on the raid.

"If there is anyone here who wishes not to go on the raid and stay behind on the back-up force, please inform either General Kenobi, or General Skywalker." With everything settled, Soala walked away. As she did so, Olie and Tarsals got up and dutifully followed her. They went to the room she was using as her private headquarters.

After she was gone, the room stayed quiet. A few of the men restarted conversations, but many of them were silent, dutifully waiting for the return of the princess. Obi-Wan came over to speak with Anakin.

"Are you the one who talked her into this?" he asked.

"No, I'm the one who tried to talk her out of it, in fact. She came up with everything on her own." He didn't feel like revealing how Padme had been a part of the conversation.

"You tried to talk her out of it? Why did you agree to go on the raid then?"

"Because I made a promise to Padme that her sister would come through this safely. That promise kind of requires me to follow Soala, no matter where she goes and no matter what she does."

A smirk came across Obi-wan's lips as he thought of something. "So, had you agreed to go on the raid before she put you on the spot like that?"

"No, I hadn't."

Obi-wan let out a giggle. "Looks like she's much more astute than I thought." His giggle quickly changed to a sigh. "She's being reckless, though."

"She's being bold," Anakin said as he tried to correct him.

"Sounds like you agree with the raid now."

"I'm still not sure this is the best idea, but I approve of the sentiment, at least." Anakin's mind drifted back again to his effort to free himself and his fellow slaves. He had prided himself on being bold in that situation, despite the fact Owen had wanted to be cautious. He laughed to himself and shook his head as he thought about the way roles were reversed now. In this situation, Soala was the young kid, wanting to be bold because she didn't quite understand the difficulty of what she was attempting. Despite only being two years older, he thought of himself as the more mature and wiser one needing to hold her back. On Tatooine, his boldness had paid off for everyone. Perhaps Soala's boldness would pay off in the same manner.

The princess was not gone long as it did not take much time to work out the final details with Olie and Tarsals. She went back to her position in the center of the room and began explaining the details of the mission, using a holo-graphic image of Theed as a visual aid.

"The armory we will raid is located on the outskirts of the city, at the northeastern end, near the mountains. I know it is a good distance from here, but it will work out for us. During the time it will take us to reach it, the diversionary force can carry out their attack on an armory on the opposite end of the city. Since we will be attacking the northeast end of the city, we will want the diversionary force to stage an attack at the southeast end. There is a small armory located near the water fall, meaning the grounds for retreat will be tight, but still amenable to a hit and run raid. By the time the Neimoidians send their forces there, we will be at our armory at the northeast end, staging our attack."

"In making the assignments, I did my best not to break up too many of the various groups we have. The Alderanian commandos and the clone troopers will form the diversionary force. You will be under the command of Captain Olie and Lieutenant Tarsals. For the Naboo forces, we've put together several platoons. Two-thirds of you will depart with General Skywalker and I for the assault on the police armory. The other third of you will stay with General Kenobi and await instruction in case either strike team needs reinforcement. Hopefully, you will be able to stay here."

The princess paused for a moment to see if there were any comments. "If no one has any questions, we can give you your assignments and assemble for departure. Naboo soldiers, please see Captain Olie or Lieutenant Tarsals for your platoon assignments. I need to go and get ready myself. When I return, we will head out."

After Soala left, Anakin was alone as Obi-Wan went to see who was staying with him. As Anakin watched the men get their assignments, he could see either elation, or dejection. In order to practice his Force sensing skills, he tried to sense what the soldiers were thinking and feeling. He could read that every soldier wanted to go raid the armory. They were all anxious to do something to help free their planet. He could feel the soldiers who were selected to go on the mission were elated while those who had to stay behind were dejected.

It didn't take long for Soala to return. When she did, Anakin could see she was wearing a loose-fitting battle outfit. He knew it was Padme's, as clothes for Soala had not been packed on the panic ship. It fit her just well enough so she didn't look ridiculous in it, not that anyone would have thought less of her if she did look ridiculous in the outfit. They didn't care how she appeared, all they cared about was the courage and the boldness she was showing. They believed in her, and they were willing to follow her anywhere.


	7. Final Victory

**Chapter 7: Final Victory**

After marching for several hours, the team led by Soala and Anakin reached the area with the armory. In order to avoid being seen, they had been forced to march through the thick of the forest. They had expected it to take them a long time, but the march proved to be easier than they thought. They were able to take a moment to rest as they awaited word of the diversionary assault.

They stayed back and out of sight from the armory so they wouldn't be spotted. When it came close to the scheduled time for the diversionary assault, they moved closer to the armory so they could see it.

The armory looked like a cylindrical ship hangar. Anakin could make out a door facing them, and from outside, it looked to be lightly guarded. There was no way to know, though, how many droids were inside, ready to back up the guards.

The fighters got into position. Soala and Anakin were in the center of the group, with the Naboo soldiers flanking them on either side. Soala pulled out her communicator, which was scanning the communications of the droid army. While they communicated entirely in binary, the device was able to tell them what they said.

Immediately upon activating the communicator, it started revealing the messages coming from the droids at the armory being attacked by the diversionary force. The droids there were notifying the central command of the attack. The central command was directing all available droid units to that position. Soala knew the units would get there quickly, and she desperately hoped the diversionary team would be gone by the time they arrived.

By monitoring the droid communications, they were able to follow as the reinforcements reached the armory. The droids fighting the diversionary team reported they had stopped for the moment, although they expected the resistance fighters to press their attack again. Additional reinforcements were being sent.

All eyes were on Soala as they were anticipating the signal to attack at any moment. All her attention was on the communicator. She paid attention as it told her one droid unit after another arrived at the other armory. When the check-ins stopped, Soala figured as many forces were diverted there as they could hope. She gave the signal to attack. Right as she gave it, she herself ran out from their hiding spot. For a moment, everyone was stunned, as they expected her to try and stay safe by bringing up the rear. Their hesitation meant that Soala ran quite a good distance alone, completely exposing herself. She was lucky the droids that spotted her didn't seem to think the young girl running their way was a threat to them. They watched her completely befuddled by what she was doing.

Anakin was the first to get over his shock and make a move to join the princess. He leapt into the air, landing directly in front of Soala and breaking into a run the moment his feet hit the ground. When he looked back to check on her, he saw the rest of the soldiers had emerged from the foliage and were running as fast as they could to catch up to their leaders.

Feeling a sense of danger through the Force, Anakin turned back around just as the droids guarding the door started firing at them. He used his lightsaber to block their shots. Someone behind him started firing, taking the droids down with expert precision. He looked back to see Soala had her blaster drawn. Once again, she was proving her proficiency with a firearm.

When Anakin and Soala reached the door to the hangar, they immediately started looking for a terminal Artoo could plug into. Anakin glanced back to see how far away Artoo was. He noticed him far behind the rest of the troops. The uneven ground made it hard to him to traverse.

Just as Anakin was about to grab Artoo with the Force and levitate him over the ground, the door opened abruptly. "What's going on here?" the mechanical voice of the droid sentry asked.

When the door opened, Anakin could see inside at the droids guarding the armory. There were far more than they had been expecting. Not only were there sentries, but there were robotic fighters who had transformed and were using their wings as legs.

With the Naboo fighters were still a good distance behind them, Anakin and Soala were sitting ducks. He moved quickly to try and take out as many droids as he could before they could fire at the princess. He yelled to her to hide as he charged right at the droid who had opened the door, slicing him to pieces. Soala obeyed him and dove to the side, taking refuge against the outside wall. They were fortunate in that the droids were too stunned to attack right away.

After slicing apart that first battle droid, Anakin surveyed the others. He knew he couldn't just take them on one by one, so he channeled the Force and pushed every droid against the walls of the armory. The Naboo fighters stormed through the door and started firing. Anakin stayed back as he didn't want to put himself in the line of fire. He watched as the soldiers fired at everything they saw. Most of their shots hit a droid, but a few of them came close to the stash of weapons. Anakin prayed they didn't destroy all of them.

"Hold your fire," Anakin yelled when he saw most of the droids had been destroyed. The soldiers obeyed, and he used his lightsaber to take out the last few droids. When everything was quiet, he surveyed the armory and saw they had avoided hitting most of the weapons.

"Move those carts over there," Soala commanded, pointing to the ones she wanted. "Move them alongside the stores of weapons and start loading them.

Even though there should have been no forces left outside, the fighters closed the door so they could work out of sight. After loading up four skids with almost all the weapons available, Soala ordered them to move out. She ran to the back door as the rest of the soldiers got the carts. She opened it and led everyone out. Anakin had the sense that route was not safe, and he made his way to the front of the group. Shortly after stepping out from the armory, a contingent of battle droids and tanks emerged from the same foliage where their army had hidden.

"Get back in the armory!" he yelled to everyone. All the Naboo soldiers around them started walking backwards as they fired at the oncoming army. The battle droids opened fire as well. While their aim was poor, there were enough of them to take out several Naboo soldiers. Anakin had to move his lightsaber frantically to block all the shots aimed at him and Soala. He wished she would use the cover he was providing her to run back to the safety of the armory. She had no intention of doing that, as she saw it as her duty to place herself at the front of the battle. She stayed right behind Anakin, firing away with her blaster.

The tanks behind the battle droids were moving slowly, bringing their large guns up to fire at the armory. Anakin knew he didn't have much time to do something about them. Once they had their guns aimed, they would be able to take out the entire group with just a few shots. While still using his Force senses to block the shots of the droids with his lightsaber, he channeled it to grab the tanks and lift them up into the air. As they flew up, he made sure to turn them around, so their guns were all pointed away from the armory. He flung them back against the forest, where they all crash landed in one clump.

The battle droids were shocked by what they saw Anakin do. They stopped firing for a moment as they turned around to see what happened. Anakin took the moment to survey his forces as well. He glanced back to see they had backed up enough, so they were right in front of the armory again.

"Get inside," Soala yelled. The soldiers all ran inside, but rather than take her own advice, Soala stayed behind Anakin and continued to pick off the battle droids. Her shots seemed to rouse them from their shock, and they began firing again. He blocked their shots as the last couple of soldiers caught outside halted in order to return fire as well.

One of the droids got in a lucky shot at the control panel, hitting the button for the doors and causing them to slam shut. Stuck outside now, Anakin, Soala, and the last two remaining soldiers were trapped.

"We need to take cover by the door," Anakin yelled to the others. The door was indented three feet into the structure, providing a small space for Soala and the soldiers to take cover. As they retreated, Anakin blocked one bolt after another, but it wasn't enough. One of the soldiers went down upon taking a direct hit. Anakin started formulating a plan to take out the whole army. He knew he could jump past the forces confronting them, then slice them apart. He wanted to make sure Soala was safe first. He glanced behind to find her pressed against the wall. There were blaster bolts hitting all around her, but she seemed safe as long as she stayed pressed against the doorframe. Her problem was she was not staying pressed against it. She was exposing herself every few seconds so she could fire her blaster. The lone remaining soldier on the other side of the door was doing the same thing.

"Stay pressed against the wall, I will take care of them," Anakin yelled. With his back turned to the droids, Anakin never noticed the tank coming out of the forest. One of them had landed upright and was able to get itself back into the battle. As it raced forward, it fired directly at the door, hitting the side where Soala was seeking shelter. The princess howled out in pain. Anakin was thankful he could hear her, as it indicated she had at least survived the initial blast. When she fell right in front of the door, he was able to see she was still in one piece, but her shoulder was completely blackened. He could smell the burnt flesh, and knew it was bad. While the blast hadn't killed her, he was doubtful she would be able to survive for long with an injury like that. The lone remaining soldier rushed over to tend to her.

A feeling of dread hit Anakin. He had promised Padme he would look out for her sister and see her through this battle safely. He had failed, horribly. He thought about how he would have to face her, but quickly put those thoughts out of his mind. He needed to concentrate on doing whatever he could to save Soala's life. He used the Force to create a whirlwind that swept up all the droids and tanks in front of him and pushed them into a ball. He then pushed the ball away with such force it flew through the air. Anakin knew when it landed, it would do so far away from them.

Anakin ran back to the door, to find the soldier sitting with Soala across his lap. He had his helmet off, allowing Anakin to see his face. He was surprised to see the soldier was younger than he was, probably the same age as Soala. He was cradling the head of the princess. Anakin was impressed by the way the young man was caring for her.

"How is she?" Anakin asked the young soldier.

"She's alive, and breathing, weakly, but she's breathing." The young soldier was fighting back tears as he spoke. "I have no idea how much longer she will last."

Touching her with the Force, Anakin was able to confirm what the soldier told him. Her Force essence was weak. How much longer, she had, he had no idea. Looking over her, he could see that her left shoulder was not the only part of her body that took the blast. The entire left side of her torso was charred. Her arm itself had somehow miraculously escaped the shot. Her neck and head were untouched, giving Anakin some hope she was okay enough to last until they could get her to a medical facility.

Anakin jumped in shock when the armory door opened. He was scared more attacks were coming, but only friendly troops emerged. He was instantly relieved to have some help in saving Soala's life and expected them to leap into action. Instead, they became distraught over the sight of the princess.

"Are any of you officers?" Anakin yelled to them. He was irate they were not able to better handle themselves. Only one man slowly raised his hand to indicate he was an officer.

"Are there any medical facilities nearby we can take the princess?"

"I-I don't know." The officer was nervous as he spoke.

"Any medical facilities in the city would be guarded by the droid armies." The young soldier tending to Soala appeared to actually know something.

"What about the medical facilities in our hideouts?" Anakin asked him.

"From what I know, they were not built with extensive medical facilities."

For a moment, Anakin felt hopeless. He quickly remembered the story he had been told of how Padme and the others had escaped. There had been a house with a secret tunnel leading to the palace. The royals had prepared for all contingencies. He wondered if part of those preparations included a hideout or bunker with a medical facility.

Knowing there was only one way to find out, Anakin closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. Given his emotional state, it was difficult to calm himself enough to reach out, but he managed to do it. He soon felt the familiar touch of Padme's mind.

 **...**

Padme darted up in bed, filled with a sense of dread. At first, she thought she must have had a horrid nightmare. It didn't take long to notice the dread she was feeling was not her own. It was Anakin's. Even before she heard his thoughts, she knew what the cause of the feelings were.

 _What happened to Soala?_

 _She took a hit and will die if we don't get her to a bacta tank._

Padme did her best to keep her emotions under control. She could feel everything Anakin was, and knew how much pain he was experiencing. A large part of the pain came from his failure to keep his promise to her to watch over her sister and protect her. Padme was heartbroken for her sister, but she wanted Anakin to know there were more important issues.

 _The mission must come first Anakin. You can't abandon everyone to save Soala. You have an important role to play in our mission that comes first._ Padme felt so horrible over what she told to Anakin she almost vomited.

 _You've seen what I can do, Padme. I can save Soala and perform my role in the mission if you just tell me where to take her._

 _Concentrate on the mission Anakin. I don't want Soala to die in vain._

 _She's not going to die at all, if you would tell me where to take her._

Padme could feel Anakin's determination. Through their connection, her fear and doubts were soon replaced by his confidence. It warmed her heart to know how far Anakin was willing to go to save Soala.

 _Okay Anakin. See if one of the soldiers can give you a holo-image of Theed._

 **...**

"Do any of you have a holo-image of Theed?" Anakin yelled to the surrounding soldiers. Almost all of them were too stunned to reply. The soldier with Soala was unfazed.

"Here you go," he said as he pulled out his projector and activated it.

Anakin knelt next to it, awaiting further instruction.

 **...**

Reading his thoughts, Padme could tell Anakin was looking at an image of Theed. She had believed through their connection she would be able to see what he was. They hadn't done it before, but she believed they could figure it out. Necessity was the mother of invention.

Padme closed her eyes and tried to see what Anakin was seeing. It didn't work.

 _Let me see what you're seeing, Anakin._

Just like that, Anakin was able to do it, and Padme was seeing the holo-image of Theed. There was something else there. When Padme looked, she saw it was Soala. She was able to see the condition her sister was in, and it horrified her. She became so distraught she started to feel faint as she felt her connection with Anakin slipping away.

 _Pull it together, Padme. Your sister needs you._

She pulled herself back from fainting and the connection returned to full strength. She was able to see the holo-image of Theed Anakin was holding. He had turned away from Soala so she couldn't be disturbed by the sight of her sister.

Giving him instructions, Padme guided Anakin's hand through the image, having him mark the location of a house that contained an underground bunker with a bacta tank. With the location marked on the image, they would be able to use the map to find it.

 **...**

"How were you able to do that?" one of the soldiers watching Anakin asked.

Reflexively, Anakin broke the connection with Padme. He had to think up something quick. "The Force guided my hand. There is a secret bunker with a bacta tank where we can take the princess."

Anakin turned his attention to the rest of the soldiers. "I am going to save the princess's life. The rest of you will have to take the weapons back. Drive the carts into the forest, then make your way back. When you reach the base, General Kenobi will distribute the weapons. Be sure to tell him what I am doing, and that I will join you tomorrow morning as you start your assault. I promise I will make it."

"Will you require any assistance with the princess?" one of the soldiers asked.

Anakin looked down at the young soldier cradling the princess. "I think the two of us will do just fine by ourselves." He nodded at the soldier, who seemed to beam with pride over the confidence Anakin was showing in him.

After the carts with all the weapons were driven away, Anakin brought out an empty cart. Soala was laid out on it. They took Artoo as well, as they figured they would need him at some point. Anakin drove the cart into the forest behind the rest of the soldiers. Once inside the forest, they turned in the opposite direction and headed for Theed. It took them almost an hour to reach the outskirts of it. They stopped there as Anakin knew they couldn't go into Theed until night fell and the streets emptied.

With a little time on their hands, Anakin went ahead and started a conversation with the young soldier. "What is your name, soldier?"

"Ryu, Ryu Kim. Uh, Private Ryu Kim, sir." Anakin heard the uneasiness in the man's voice.

"Are you a real private in the army, or did you just give yourself the rank?" The man's uneasiness and embarrassment was all the answer Anakin needed. "You can tell me the truth. I'm not exactly going to have you kicked out of the resistance. I'm pretty sure not all the resistance fighters are regular soldiers."

"I know they aren't, as I joined the resistance with several of my friends. One of my friend's older brothers is a regular soldier. He was on leave when the droids came. He knew where to go in case of an occupation, and he let us come with him."

"I'm glad he allowed that. I shouldn't have to tell you we ended up needing all the bodies we could get. And you did well back there, despite not being a regular."

"I failed back there. I was staying close to the princess, hoping I could keep her safe, but I failed."

"It was I who failed. Before we came here, I promised the queen I would keep her sister safe. She was my responsibility."

"I know," Ryu said sheepishly. "I saw you protecting her, but I wanted to help. I had met her before."

"When?"

"It was a couple months ago." Ryu's spirits brightened as he remembered a happier time. "I was at a party at a friend's house, when I saw this beautiful girl all by herself. She was the kind of girl I probably shouldn't have had a chance with, but I went up to talk to her, and we ended up talking the whole night. She didn't tell me much about herself, but it didn't matter. I felt like I learned enough about her to know we had a connection. I went home that night thinking I would see her again, but I never did. I looked for her everywhere. I almost posted something on a message board to find her." He shook his head as thought about the situation. "I had no idea she was Princess Soala until she came to the base."

"I can imagine how surprised you must have been," Anakin said. "Soala told me about that night. Well, she told me about nights like that. She mentioned going out and socializing with other teens her age. No one recognized her, and at first, she was disappointed, but she soon realized its benefit. She was able to hang out as a normal teen." Anakin paused as he thought about what he should say. "While she didn't mention any boy, I could tell she must have had a good time with someone."

"It's okay that she didn't remember me."

"Don't worry, she will remember you after this."

 **...**

"All the troops are here. We're ready to board the transports." The clone trooper stood at attention with his rifle held across his chest. Dressed in his full suit of armor, he looked regal, but deadly, to Padme.

"Thank you, Captain Rex," Thrawn replied. He was standing at attention as well, his hands clasped behind his back. Padme was next to him, standing up perfectly straight, but not quite at attention.

"You may instruct the soldiers to start loading onto the ships," Thrawn commanded. Rex clicked his heels together before pivoting around and addressing his troops.

"Soldiers, load the ships."

The clones turned in perfect unison. Once they were all facing the open loading ramps of the transports, they marched into them.

"The troops are very impressive." Padme felt the need to say something, as the silence between her and Thrawn was awkward. She was unable to think of anything other than the plight of her sister. She was closely inspecting the troops in the hopes it would take her mind off Soala, but it was doing no such thing.

"They will do their job," Thrawn said softly. "Palpatine sent me a message that he and Bail Organa reached Coruscant safely. They are ready to deal with the political fallout from our actions. All we need is the strike team led by Generals Skywalker and Kenobi to come through and clear a landing area for our clone troopers."

"They will complete their part of the mission," Padme said confidently.

"I share your optimism, even though we have no idea what has happened on Naboo. Our intelligence has not been able to pick up any transmissions concerning what might have happened to the strike team. Their ship could have been destroyed in orbit, or they could have failed to find any resistance fighters. We are going there blind, just trusting they will come through."

"They are safely on Naboo, with the fighters they need." Padme's voice was uneasy, as she was thinking about all the things that went wrong for them. Despite that, they were in a good position to succeed. "They will come through for us."

Thrawn looked over and stared at her. He wondered where her confidence was coming from. Despite what she was saying, she was really a nervous wreck. While she had confidence the mission would succeed, she feared it would cost her sister her life.

"We should board the ship ourselves," Thrawn said when he saw the clones were all loaded on their transports.

 **...**

Waiting for the city to empty out was excruciating for Anakin. He knew the longer they waited, the closer Soala got to death. They had to wait, though, as she was never going to survive if they got caught on their way to the bunker. She was monitored closely by Anakin and Ryu the entire time, and they were both ready to risk everything if her demise appeared imminent.

The two waited until after nightfall to emerge from the forest and make their way into the city. The streets were deserted, with few lights on as almost everyone was asleep. Anakin had the skiff moving at a low speed, as the vehicle made less noise that way. He was trying to be as cautious as possible. They knew there would still be patrols of droids on the streets, but they could monitor them. The troops were in constant contact with each other, and Artoo was able to use their radio transmissions to locate their positions. He was able to tell Anakin which route to take so they were able to avoid all the patrols.

When they were still a few blocks from the house, they stopped the skiff and abandoned it. They had no way to hide the skiff, and they didn't want the droids to find it right next to the bunker. They did their best to leave it in an alley where it would be hard to spot, then ran to the house, with Anakin carrying Soala in his arms.

The house holding the bunker looked just like all the others on the street. Anakin wasn't sure they had the right place until Artoo plugged into the computer and beeped excitedly, indicating they were in the right spot.

Anakin waited for the door to open, but nothing happened. Artoo started beeping and rocking frantically. Anakin figured he was trying to tell them why he couldn't open the door, but the humans couldn't understand him. For just the second time in his life, Anakin was wishing Threepio was around, as the protocol droid could tell them what the astromech droid was trying to say.

"I need to touch the doorbell. It needs to read my biometrics." The sound of Soala's voice was so unexpected it startled Anakin.

Anakin looked around and found the button. Ryu was looking around and noticed it the same time Anakin did. He grabbed her hand and pressed her finger against it. The door slid open for them. After looking around to make sure they were still alone, Anakin went inside, followed by Ryu and Artoo.

The indoor lights turned on the moment the door shut. Anakin saw the place was decorated like a normal family dwelling. It even had holo-pictures of a family of four. Everything was done to disguise it.

"Look for the basement," Soala said.

"Stay here and watch for droids," Anakin said to Ryu. "If they find that skid, they might go house to house looking for who it belongs to. While I am sure this house is built to withstand an assault, come and warn me if you see anything."

"I will do that," Ryu replied.

He walked to the other end of the house to find the stairs to the basement. He took them down, with Artoo beeping he wanted to come as well. Anakin didn't want to worry about the droid, so he left him at the top of the stairs.

Once he reached the ground floor, Anakin looked around at the equipment. His eyes immediately fixated on the bacta tank at the back of the room. It was equipped with more than just that, though. There was a large metal slab in the middle that was surrounded by numerous mechanical appendages. Anakin shuddered looking at it, as he realized it couldn't be a very pleasant experience to get treated by those robotic arms. There was also a medical droid sitting idly by the wall. Anakin walked over to activate it, but it came on itself when Anakin reached it. Seeing the injured Soala in the arms of Anakin, it immediately knew she was the patient who needed help.

"Please put her on the table so I can inspect her." Anakin did as the robot requested. The mechanical appendages around the table came to life as they started scanning Soala and poking needles in her body. Anakin trembled as he thought how unpleasant the experience must be for her.

The droid didn't have to work long to give its assessment of Soala's situation. "She needs an incubation of several days in the bacta tank. Once that is completed, she will be completely healed. I have induced a coma and will place her in the tank.

The mechanical appendages started cutting away at her clothing. Anakin averted his eyes, taking just the occasional glance at her to make sure she wasn't being harmed. The appendages cut away at her clothes until she was in her underwear. After they stopped, the droid fit a breathing mask over her face.

The table tilted itself, startling Anakin. He moved back as he watched the mechanical appendages all place themselves under Soala's body. They lifted her up and carried her over to the tank, gently placing her in the liquid.

Knowing she was okay now, Anakin reached out across the distance of space to find Padme. When he felt the familiar touch of her mind, he smiled. He sent her a brief message before breaking the connection.

 **...**

Obi-Wan surveyed the soldiers assembled. They were far from the best-looking fighting force, but they would do. He was just thankful the humans and Gungans were getting along. Having a common enemy to fight did wonders for them. While many of the Gungans were unfamiliar with the weaponry they were being asked to use, the humans were showing them the basics. He had confidence in the Gungans. Given how much the entire species wanted redemption, he knew they would come through. The one person he was concerned about was Anakin. He knew how much they needed him.

Thinking about the extent to which they were counting on Anakin, Obi-Wan shook his head over the nature of it. A week ago, he was just a simple man living on Tatooine. Now, he was the lynchpin of an invasion force trying to defeat a powerful army. The Force was at work in everything. Anakin was powerful in the Force in ways none of the trained Jedi were. He had a great destiny, Obi-Wan could feel it. It made him wonder why he was born and hidden away on a remote planet, only to be discovered now. The Force was mysterious, and when all this was over, the Jedi Council was going to have to spend time deep in meditation to figure out what was happening in the galaxy.

"All the troops are ready," Tarsals said as he walked up to him, accompanied by Captain Olie.

"Give the signal to the platoon leaders," Obi-Wan replied. "Tell them to have their troops assemble into formation outside."

 **...**

"Lieutenant, give me the sensor read-out." Thrawn started barking out orders the second their ship exited hyperspace.

"All ships exited hyperspace in formation," the lieutenant said as he read through the information appearing on the screen in front of him. "The enemy ships are spread out around the planet. I am detecting ten ships breaking formation at this moment and heading in our direction."

"Show me those ships on my holo." The transparent images of ten ships appeared in front of Thrawn and Padme. "Continue observing the rest of the ships around the planet. I am sure they will send more our way as their orbits bring them close to us.

Thrawn pulled out a pointer and started highlighting the holo-images of the ships before him. As he did so, he explained to the queen what he was doing. "I'm highlighting which ships I want each tow craft to target. Since there are ten ships coming at us, and we have five tow-craft, each one can target two enemy ships, one they will push away and another they will pull towards them."

"Transmit my assignments to the rest of the fleet," Thrawn bellowed.

With the assignments done, Thrawn stared at the transparent images of the ships as he rubbed his chin. Padme did so as well, and after a few moments she saw them start to move erratically. The tow ships were using their tractor beams to move the ships around. Now came the moment of truth. Padme was anxious as she watched to see if the ships would truly start jumping to hyperspace out of fear.

"I really hope this works," she began. "My skepticism about your plan has been growing. We're using a parlor trick to try and imitate the power of the Jedi. It will be a stretch for the Neimoidians to believe we have powerful Jedi aboard."

Padme picked up a feeling from Thrawn that he was being very contemplative. "When I first came to this world, I was completely ignorant of the power of the Jedi. I have to say, after I met a couple of them and saw what they could do, I came away completely unimpressed by their power. From my perspective, they have the power to use the Force to carry out parlor tricks as you would call them, but not much else. The power of telekinesis does not equate with the power of foresight, but somehow, they have convinced everyone otherwise. They have done a great job in convincing people that the ability to perform magic tricks means they have wisdom, knowledge, and power beyond all other beings in the galaxy. However, I have carried out a detailed analysis of their mistakes and failures, and that showed no such evidence of advanced wisdom or foresight. This parlor trick you are calling it is just copying the bluff the Jedi perform regularly. This Republic has an unnecessary fear of the Jedi that we are seeking to capitalize on. The ships will flee out of fear. You just have to wait for it."

Padme felt like countering everything Thrawn said about the Jedi and the Force. Over the past few days, through her connection with Anakin, she had gotten to experience a little of what it felt like to have power in the Force, and it was everything the Jedi claimed it was. She stayed silent, as being reminded of Anakin and her Force connection with him made her want to try and seek him out. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, seeing if she could initiate the connection with him.

 **...**

Anakin spent the morning deep in meditation. He did it mostly to kill time, but he also thought it wouldn't hurt to channel the Force early. It was almost time for the battle to start.

While still in meditation, he felt the familiar presence of Padme. He once again reiterated to her that her sister was safe. She told him to prepare himself, he would be needed for the battle soon.

 **...**

Padme couldn't believe it, but everything was happening exactly as Thrawn had anticipated. First, the ten ships that had been heading their way disappeared as they jumped to hyperspace. Then, the other ships of the blockade did so as well. She couldn't believe the Neimoidians were truly that spooked, but the evidence was right in front of her.

"We have an opening for the transports," one of the Alderanian officers announced to Thrawn."

"Good. Send the freighters through it." His voice was loud as he gave his commands, but he spoke softly when he made a comment that he only wanted the queen to hear. "Now, we will see if the strike force is able to carry out its task."

 **...**

The communicator in Obi-Wan's hand vibrated as a pre-recorded message came out of its speaker loud and clear. "Federation ships are in retreat. Troop transports are heading for the surface. Strike force is to clear the area." After putting the communicator away, Obi-Wan surveyed the troops lined up around him. They were anxious, and ready for a fight. While he still questioned their ability, there was no denying their desire to destroy the droid army and liberate the planet.

"Move out!" he yelled as loud as he could. "The clone troops are on their way. We need to march to the landing field and clear it for them."

 **...**

Anakin was still meditating when he received a message in his mind from Padme. _The freighters with the clone troops are heading your way._ He broke out of his trance and headed up to the first floor, taking one last look at Soala in the bacta tank.

"Stay with Soala and guard the place the best you can," he said to Ryu. "There is no reason to believe the droids will find out what this place, but if they do, radio me."

"I will do that," Ryu replied. Using the Force, he could sense the boy was willing to give his life for the princess.

Moving quickly, Anakin walked outside before leaping on to the top of the house. He channeled the Force, reaching out with it to feel the presence of their troops. They were approaching the landing spot. He continued monitoring them as he watched the sky around him. The Federation transports were flying out to the field. Anakin knew he could take them out right now, but he had a feeling that he should not reveal himself just yet. He stayed perched in his spot, using the Force to reach out and monitor his troops as the battle started. The droids put up more of a fight than they had been expecting. The numbers they had were alarming. Wave after wave of battle droids marched across the field, pushing the troops back into the forest and taking complete control of the landing area. They began constructing large guns in the middle of the field in anticipation of the troop transports arriving.

Knowing it was time to make his move, he scanned the sky around him, identifying all the droid transports flying out to the field. He used the Force to grab as many as he could and send them crashing to the ground. He only needed to destroy a couple before the others retreated. Satisfied he had diverted the droid reinforcements, he crouched down as he channeled the Force, amassing energy. When he had enough, he leaped high into the air, flying over the city in the direction of the field where the battle was taking place.

As he started his descent and neared the field, he could see the battle unfolding below him. The droids, along with a line of tanks, were advancing on the Naboo forces in the forest. Anakin knew he was arriving just in time, and he knew he couldn't hold anything back when he joined the fight.

Upon landing in the middle of the droid army, Anakin pushed out with the Force, knocking down battle droids and sending tanks crashing into each other. The entire droid army was thrown off its attack as it tried to re-assemble its formations.

With the Force fueling him, Anakin raced to the join the soldiers on the front lines. As he ran, he took out a few more droids with his lightsaber. When he reached the front lines, he could feel the awe they were experiencing over what they had witnessed. In an instant, they had gained the utmost respect for him. Anakin knew they would do whatever he told them. With the droid army in disarray, the strike force had just a moment to counterattack. Anakin reached out with the Force and touched the minds of all of them, feeding them the impulse to charge ahead and attack. They just needed the command to go.

"Charge!" Anakin yelled as he ran out into the field. He headed right for the first tank he saw and used his lightsaber to slice off its guns. The rest of the strike force followed him, tearing apart the droid army.

 **...**

The battle went just as Thrawn planned. The strike force cleared out the field for the clone troop transports to land. Once they disembarked, Anakin and Obi-Wan led the forces into Theed, leading them to victory over the droid army as they retook the capital city and destroyed the central command of the army. The only thing they failed to do was capture the Neimoidian viceroys. Instead of ruling from the capital, Nute Gunray had been in a ship in orbit. His had been one of the first to flee when the Neimoidians thought they were going up against an army of Jedi. The low-level functionaries in Theed were the highest ranking Neimoidians they managed to capture.

 **...**

When the command ship landed, Padme headed straight for the bunker where Soala was. She almost hugged the bacta tank as she apologized to her sister.

Knowing exactly where Padme would be, Anakin went to the bunker. Once there, he told Ryu to go to the main base. He had done a good job and his task was complete. The man looked reluctant to leave. Anakin told him they would have a continued need for a sentry, and that he could fill it, once he was rested. Upon hearing that, the man enthusiastically left.

Apprehensively, Anakin walked down the stairs to the basement. While Padme had been forgiving of him when they were connected, he wasn't sure if that attitude would continue after she saw her sister in person. He walked to the bottom of the steps without Padme noticing him. When he saw her, his heart broke. Padme was sitting on the platform holding the bacta tank, leaning against it and stroking the glass. She appeared desperate to hold her sister, but that was the closest she could get.

As Anakin walked towards her, Padme finally looked up at him. He could see the desperation and fear on her face, but it changed abruptly when she saw him. She was overjoyed as she ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"Just hold me," she whispered. Anakin wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.

The two stayed in their embrace for a while. When Padme had enough, she pushed herself back and looked up at Anakin. She reached up and stroked his cheek.

"Thank you for not listening to me," she said as her voice cracked. "I owe my sister's life to you."

"It was the least I could do, given how much I owe you."

"You owe me?" Padme said with a shake of her head. "How can that be?"

"If it wasn't for you, I never would have left Tatooine. If I never left Tatooine, I would not be on the path to becoming a Jedi."

While Padme did her best to try and look happy for Anakin, she knew what all the implications were for him as a Jedi. She looked away from him so he couldn't see the sadness on her face.

"So, you are to be a Jedi then."

"The Jedi Council is on its way to decide that, but Obi-Wan believes they will allow it."

"If you become a Jedi, you will be throwing away any chance we have of being together." Padme went back to stroking Anakin's cheek. "With what you've done, you have earned the stature to marry me. You are the conquering hero of Naboo. All the soldiers saw how you turned the tide of the battle for them all by yourself. Many of them also know what you did to save my sister's life. For anyone who doesn't know your exploits, I will teach them."

"I wish we could be together, but right now, the galaxy needs me as a Jedi." Anakin's voice conveyed his dejection. "More importantly, Naboo needs me as a Jedi. The fallout from this battle is rippling across the galaxy. Hego Damask is calling in his alliances with the other warlord, and they are starting to line up behind him. There is going to be war, and there is fear that it will begin with the Federation returning here with all their new allies to conquer the planet once again. The Council is coming here with every available Jedi to try and prevent that, but Naboo will never be safe until the warlords are defeated and this war is over. I know the Republic is not ready for war. They need all the help they can get. After what I did here, I know they need me." He paused and swallowed hard before he said one last thing. "The Jedi do not exactly kill people for leaving. Perhaps once this war is over, I could return and marry you."

"That won't be possible." Padme was almost crying now. She knew when he talked about protecting Naboo, he was really talking about protecting her. He realized any marriage between them would be impossible during the war, and the only way to end the war was for him to become a Jedi. "If you become a Jedi, you will be held to their standard of anonymity. The citizens of this world will never learn what you did for us. You will never have the stature you need to marry me."

"So, this is it, then." Now, Anakin was close to tears.

"Yes, it is." Padme stroked his cheek again before jumping up into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she kissed him one last time. After a very long kiss, she separated their lips just enough to say one thing to him.

"I will always love you, Anakin Skywalker."

 **...**

For the next couple days, Padme refused to leave the bunker. It had been built as a safehouse from which she could conduct all business, so there was nothing she missed out on by staying there, close to her sister. She was even able to contact Palpatine and Bail Organa, keeping abreast of everything happening on Coruscant.

"The Senate has been receiving reports that all the warlords are fulfilling their alliance agreements and joining Hego Damask," Palpatine revealed to her during one of their conference calls. "For once, our politicians are not shying away from their responsibilities. They realize we are at war, and they are ready to take the steps necessary to fight it."

Bail Organa took over for Palpatine. "There is a growing realization in the Senate that Chancellor Valorum is not up to the task of leading the war effort. We just got done with a no confidence vote, and while Valorum won it, the loss of support showed by the vote sent a loud message. It is clear he cannot last much longer, and steps are being taken to find his successor. There are only two candidates being considered, and one of them is Palpatine."

"Congratulations," Padme said.

"Right now, he is the second choice of most Senators," Bail continued. "Ainlee Teem was hand-picked by Valorum, and most Senators want her as she is more experienced and gives the office some continuity. She has been very astute by reaching out to us and offering us leadership of the war committee."

"So, no matter what happens, the Republic's conduct of the war will be in your hands," Padme pointed out.

"Yes, but it is still vital that I become chancellor," Palpatine stated. "Every decision the war committee makes will still have to be approved by Teem. She will have veto over everything. I fear that Naboo will not be properly defended by her. While your planet will almost surely find itself under attack again, allocating resources to you will be difficult as it is far from the most important strategic planet. With limited resources, Naboo may be left to the warlords."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Padme asked, nervous.

"The main thing holding back Senators from voting for me is the fear I am a loose cannon that will need to be constrained. If you could record a message detailing my calm conduct in planning the liberation of your planet, that would do much to alleviate the fears of those on the fence."

"I will record that message and get it out to you right away."

 **...**

"His power is raw. His potential is apparently unlimited. He is strong in the Force in a manner I have never known in a Jedi." Obi-Wan completed his speech to the Jedi Council, outlining Anakin's power. He was trying to explain why the Order needed to break its rules to bring Anakin into the Order. He scanned the Council, trying to read them. He got the sense they were skeptical, and that he needed to work harder to make the sell.

"I realize regular knights such as me do not have access to the Jedi history that you on this Council do. There are rumors among the knights of a prophecy concerning a chosen one. A prophecy declaring a Jedi will bring balance to the Force. With the potential Anakin is showing, I believe he is this chosen one."

Mace Windu, the second highest Jedi, leaned forward to talk. He did not appear impressed by anything Obi-Wan just said. "You are correct in assuming there is a prophecy of a chosen one mentioned in the Council's private histories. It was a prophecy that was recorded during the very founding of the Order. It has been kept private, as there is much lore from that time period that is almost impossible to believe. There are tales of crystals that could be used to channel the Force and give Jedi immense power. Stories of Jedi who could use the Force to travel through hyperspace, even to other galaxies. The possibility of any of these stories being true is small. This council will not base any decision to train Anakin on meaningless prophecies."

"Than base it on what I've seen and felt with my own senses," Obi-Wan pleaded. "With minimal training, the power Anakin has in the Force is greater than any Jedi."

"Strong in the Force is he. Demonstrate it, he did." Obi-Wan along with almost every member of the council jumped when Yoda finally spoke. He was the Grand Master Jedi, and normally led every meeting. He was always the most talkative during the Council meetings, but this one was different. He had said a few words to open the meeting, then uncharacteristically stayed silent. He listened intently to everyone else but seemed weighed down by the events that had recently transpired.

"More to a Jedi, there is, then strength in the Force. Discipline in using the Force. Knowledge of how to act. The restraint to turn away from the dark side and follow the light. All of these are important." Obi-Wan had told them everything about his time with Anakin. He even told them about the times on Tatooine when he had witnessed him utilizing the dark side. He knew Yoda was referring to this, and he felt the need to defend Anakin.

"For most of his life, all Anakin ever knew was the dark side. He was raised a slave, and in order to escape it he had to call on it to do so. But he did so not just to save himself, but to free every slave in the city where he lived. From that point on, whenever he was in danger, he had to call on it to save himself. This most recent battle was completely different. He never called on the dark side, even when he feared for the life of the princess, or when our strike team was in a desperate situation. He remained calm and rational the entire time. In just the little bit of time I had to train him, I accomplished a remarkable change in him."

Mace Windu leaned back in his chair now. "And if we were to allow him to become a Jedi, would you expect to be the one to continue training him?"

Mace's question was one Obi-Wan had been anticipating. "I know I am an unlikely candidate for training someone with such immense ability. Training him would seem like a task that should be performed by an older, more experienced master who has already taught several Padawans. Anakin is a much different student then we have ever had. Experience is not going to count for much with him. The fact he is much older than anyone who has ever been brought into the Jedi order is going to require a much different training regimen. Whoever trains him is going to have to make up the regiment as they go along. Perhaps the one thing we know, is that Anakin having a solid amount of trust in his mentor will be vitally important. He is a grown man that is not going to just accept the word of his master like the young Padawans do. The two of us have known each other for a short time, but a strong bond has formed between us. I gave him his first lessons, and I know I did much to earn his trust. He has confidence and faith in me and will readily accept me as a mentor."

"Your assessment of the situation matches our own." Ki-Adi-Mundi was smiling beneath his long goatee.

"So, what does that mean?" He was trying to hide the excitement he was feeling.

"It means Anakin is to be a Jedi," Mace Windu revealed. He was smiling broadly and looked happy as he spoke. Obi-Wan knew that meant he was completely on board with the decision. He did glance one seat over to Yoda, to see he did not appear happy.

While Obi-Wan could have merely been happy that he got the decision he wanted, it was imperative for him to know just how much support he and Anakin had. "If it would not be out of place for me to ask, I would like to know just how much support Anakin and I have from you."

"Asking for the results of the vote, you are." Yoda was direct. "Deserve to know it, you do. Before we started, set the condition of unanimous vote, we did. Reach that condition, we did."

The members of the council were normally good about controlling their body language and hiding their emotions. The current moment proved to be an exception as the other council members were eyeing Yoda. Both Obi-Wan and Yoda noticed it, causing Yoda to feel he needed to respond to the unspoken message they were sending.

"Many votes did we take, to reach unanimity. Lone holdout, I was. Acquiesce in the end, I did." There was a heaviness and weariness in Yoda's voice Obi-Wan had never heard before. Yoda had apparently given his vote reluctantly. It was something that surprised Obi-Wan, as Yoda had never been one to give in to the demands of others.

"Why did you end your hold out and give in to the others?" he asked.

"My last act on the council, I decided it should be." Obi-Wan was shocked over what he was hearing. "Hold up the training of Anakin, I should not have done."

"You're leaving the council? Why? What does this mean?"

"My time left in this realm is short. Go away to meet my end, I will. Time for me to do so, it is. Dark times these are, and fail to see them, I did. No more good am I to the order, leave, I must."

Obi-Wan stared directly at the floor to hide his emotions. He did glance around at the faces of the other masters on the council, who all had expressions of sorrow. Yoda leaving to die alone was an old Jedi tradition. It was one that wasn't followed much anymore, and that was what made what made it so surprising.

"Hold up Anakin's teaching, I could have. Futile, it was. Vote for it, anyway, my replacement likely would. Now that he is to be trained, this I must say. Uncertain, Anakin's future is. Great potential, there is. Potential for triumph, but also for darkness. Watch him closely, you must. Tamper his anger and fear, you must. Tame the wildness he has in the Force, you must. Fail to do so, and dire the consequences will be."

Obi-Wan could sense the mood of the other council members, and he sensed they did not share the opinion of Yoda. He truly was on his own on the issue. To Obi-Wan, it was a sign that perhaps the old Jedi Master's time had passed if he didn't see the wisdom in training Anakin. While he was going to be sad to see his former master leave, this was evidence that it was time for him to step aside and let some fresh blood run things. If he saw the start of this war as a failure, and a personal one at that, then he was right to leave others to run things.

"I will find Anakin and inform him of the decision that has been made." Obi-Wan held his emotions in check as he spoke, as was demanded of any good Jedi. He bowed to Yoda and Mace Windu before pivoting on his heels, walking through the circle of masters, and leaving the room.

 **...**

"Congratulations, Senator-, I'm sorry, I mean Chancellor Palpatine." Padme was in the bunker, talking with a holographic image of the newly elected chancellor. "The Republic is in good hands with you as Chancellor. I know you will be the war leader we need to earn us victory over the Separatist warlords."

"I am the one who should be thanking you. Your actions in liberating your planet and freeing your people earned you much admiration here in the capital. The clout you earned made people pay attention to your message of support. I know that, more than anything else, is what earned me the votes to be chancellor."

"I am glad I could help. My planet needs a close ally in the chancellor's office."

The mood of Palpatine changed abruptly. "Your planet could have a very close ally running the war if you were to accept what I am going to offer you." Padme seized up as she realized what was coming. "The leadership you displayed in freeing Naboo from the grip of the Neimoidians was remarkable, and a sign that your skills would be wasted by leading just one planet. I am offering you a position on the war council, as the Minister of Recruitment and Procurement. Your task would be to manage the logistics of the war. Much of that will be negotiating with planetary leaders in order to win pledges of soldiers and material. I have seen how persuasive you can be, and I feel I have found the position where your abilities will be best utilized."

"I am flattered by the offer, Chancellor Palpatine, but there is no way I could pull double duty. Handling my responsibilities as both Queen of Naboo and Minister of Recruitment and Procurement would be too much."

"I understand that." Palpatine appeared to be greatly concerned about something. "While the law allows for planetary sovereigns to serve as senators, it is not allowed for cabinet ministers, due to the conflicts of interest that would arise. For you to take the position I am offering, you would have to abdicate your throne. I know this must sound disconcerting to you, but I believe Soala, with the heroism she showed during the invasion, will be a remarkable leader for your people. I would not have offered this position to you if I thought otherwise. I have been told word of her deeds has been spreading all over the planet, and that she is practically being worshiped. She would make a fine queen for your planet and leave you free to serve the rest of the galaxy."

Looking at Soala in the bacta tank, all Padme could think was that it should have been her in there. She should not have allowed her sister to take a greater risk than she took herself. She had made a mistake by not being the one to come here with the strike force. She did not intend to make the same mistake twice.

"I am honored by the offer you made for me to sit on your war council, but I am afraid I must decline the offer. While I am sure my sister would make a wonderful queen, I am afraid an abdication, for any reason, would be seen by everyone as an abandonment of my people. The citizens of this planet would turn away from my sister, and the government officials on Coruscant would be hesitant to work with me after the sign of disloyalty." Padme knew nothing she said was true, but she needed every excuse she could think of to turn down Palpatine.

"While I feel you are gravely incorrect on both counts, I can't exactly compel you to serve on the council. I assure you this will not affect our relationship moving forward in any manner. I know we will still end up working closely together as the war progresses. I know I can count on you if I ever require your assistance. I will leave you alone now." The holo-image disappeared, leaving Padme alone with her sister in the bacta tank.

 **...**

Anakin stood in the center of the council circle. Yoda was leading him through his Padawan pledges. He was initiating Anakin into the order as his very last act.

Anakin was at the part where he pledged to serve his master and obey his teachings. As he had expected, Obi-Wan had been assigned to train him. He was happy for that, as he believed Obi-Wan would give him a leeway that most of the other Jedi would not afford him. He had his concerns about learning under Obi-Wan but would rather have someone familiar than someone unknown. He could sense the feelings of his master as he stood behind him. He was feeling an enormous sense of pride.

As he had been told earlier, he was to take every pledge and follow every rule of the Order. That included pledging to never enter a romantic relationship. It was very difficult for him when Yoda led him through that pledge. He did it without hesitation, although it pained him greatly to make a pledge he wished he didn't have to keep. He was in love with Padme. The connection they had was something that as far as he knew no one else had. But if he was a Jedi now, he was going to have to forget about her.

 **...**

The rays of the afternoon sun came in through the slit between the curtains. The sunrays provided a minimal amount of light in Soala's bedroom, just as Padme wanted. She had heard that when coming out of a bacta coma, the light would hurt one's eyes. It was either a bacta coma, or carbonite freeze. Still, she figured there was no point in taking chances. She wanted her sister to be as comfortable as possible. She could have had the medical droid bring her out of the coma right after they took her out of the tank, but she didn't want her waking in the cold and uncomfortable bunker. Padme had Soala kept in the coma as she was transported to her room in the palace. Just before the medical droid left, he injected her with the drugs to wake her. He had said it would take ten minutes for them to take effect, and she was anxiously watching the clock.

When Soala's eyes started to flutter, Padme's heart seized. She reached out and took a hold of her sister's hand as she tried to talk her out of the coma. "Soala, it's me, your sister, Padme. You were gravely injured when you led an attack against the droid army. You've spent the last five days in a bacta tank. Our invasion was successful, and our planet has been liberated."

"What about Anakin?" Soala asked. Her voice was weak, but not quite as weak as Padme had thought it might be.

"He-he is safe, and well. I haven't been able to see much of him, as he has been meeting with the Jedi Council so they can determine if he is to be trained as a Jedi."

"I had a feeling he would make it through okay." She smiled as she pressed her head back against her pillow and closed her eyes. "I owe my life to him."

Soala startled her sister when in one swift motion she reached out and grabbed a hold of Padme's hand and held it with a death grip. Padme tried to pull her hand away, but Soala's grip was too strong for her to even move an inch. The girl's strength was remarkable. Soala lifted her head up as she glared right at Padme.

"Marry him. Promise me you will do so."

For almost a minute, Padme could do nothing more than stammer as she was too shocked to form a coherent sentence. "Um, you must be delirious Soala. You know I can't do that. I am the queen of this planet, and I don't exactly have the freedom to just marry whomever I want."

"You don't have to be the queen anymore." Soala was giving her sister a knowing smile. It seemed impossible, but somehow, she knew about the conversation she had with Palpatine and the offer he had made to her.

"What are you talking about?" Padme was doing her best to play dumb.

"When I was in the bacta tank, I heard the conversation you had with Palpatine. I know he offered you a position on his war council. If you abdicate and take it, you will be free to marry Anakin."

"I can't do that." Padme couldn't look at her sister as she spoke.

"Blast it!" Soala was furious with her sister. "Don't be unreasonable. Everything will work out perfectly, if you will just accept it. You can abdicate with a clear conscious, serve a vital role in the galaxy, pursue your relationship with Anakin, and leave me as queen of this planet. I am ready for it. I have been preparing for it my whole life, just like you."

"Being queen is a burden. One that I do not wish to pass on to you. Soala, I want you to be free to pursue-"

"I want nothing more than to see you free to marry the greatest man in the galaxy."

Padme blushed over Soala's description of her Anakin. It was a bit of teenage hyperbole, but it wasn't too far off the mark. She desperately wanted to be with Anakin, but her position as the queen of Naboo was not the only obstacle.

"Anakin is set to be a Jedi. If he joins the Order, they likely won't allow him to have a relationship."

"Who cares what they allow." Soala was speaking through clenched teeth now. "I know about the connection the two of you have. The one that even the Jedi can't detect. The one that allows you to communicate across the galaxy. The one that will allow you to have a discreet relationship no one has to know about."

Padme's heart raced as she found it difficult to breathe. Her sister had just laid out the perfect argument for her and Anakin to marry. Everything Soala said was true. She leaned over and gave Soala a hug. It was all the princess needed in order to know what Padme had decided.

 **...**

The ceremony where Padme abdicated and Soala was coronated was a small and private affair. The tact of the situation called for a low-key transfer of power. While the public wouldn't get to see the transfer itself, the two sisters knew it wouldn't matter. At the victory parade that night, Soala would be publicly introduced as the Queen of Naboo. That would be enough for the people to accept her as queen.

 **...**

"I really think you're going to like it here, Threepio." Anakin talked pleasantly to the protocol droid as he led him through the halls of the palace. "You are finally going to be able to live up to your programming. You're going to be serving a royal, full time."

When Threepio stopped and looked over at Anakin, he appeared bewildered, despite being unable to make facial expressions. "I'm confused. I thought I was supposed to be serving Secretary Padme, not Queen Soala."

"I apologize for confusing you, Threepio. I simply misspoke. I still haven't quite internalized that Padme is now a cabinet official instead of a royal. The fact this should be an exciting time for you doesn't change, though. You're be going to Coruscant and accompanying Padme to all kinds of important meetings and functions. You might even get to use all five million forms of communication your fluent in."

"It's six million forms, Master Anakin. And I doubt I would ever be able to us them all. Even at two a day, it would take me eight thousand years to run through all of them."

"Good to know." Anakin bit his tongue as he thought how thankful he was he had traded Artoo for Threepio. If he had been stuck with the protocol droid, he would have flung him to the sun. "Can you continue showing me to Padme's room."

Thankfully, the protocol droid didn't say anything more and simply lead Anakin to Padme's new room. Upon Anakin's request, the droid disappeared instead of going inside to announce Anakin's arrival. The door was open, so Anakin peered inside to see Padme pacing around. She looked incredibly nervous, which Anakin couldn't understand. When Padme finally noticed Anakin standing in the doorway, she nearly jumped to the ceiling.

"I apologize for startling you, Madam Secretary," Anakin said. "Perhaps I should have had Threepio announce me."

"No, it's fine," Padme replied with a nervous smile. "I've just got a lot on my mind, with the new position is all. I was lost in my own thoughts." She gestured as she talked, and Anakin could see she was holding something in her hand. She glanced at the package he was carrying in his hand as he walked inside. With nothing to do, Threepio walked past Anakin and out of the room.

The moment was awkward, as the two stood a good distance from each other. "Those robes suit you well," Padme said to Anakin.

"And that outfit, you look beautiful in it."

"Thank you. And thank you for answering my request and coming down to see me."

"I didn't really think I could decline an offer from a secretary sitting on the war council. The Jedi are going to be working closely with you, and I didn't want to be the cause of any animosity."

"I think you should know I could never have any animosity with the Jedi, not after everything you and General Kenobi did to liberate my planet. That is why I called you down here. I had medals made for both you and General Kenobi, to celebrate and acknowledge the role you played in liberating Naboo. Your master already declined his, as he said Jedi are not supposed to accept rewards like medals. He didn't forbid me from offering one to you. Everything you did, you did before you were in the Jedi Order. Please take this, Anakin."

Padme held out the medal in front of her. Her arm was trembling, and Anakin wondered once again what she was so nervous about. He knew he could connect with her to find out, but he didn't want to do that. He had pledged to leave all that behind.

"I am sorry, but I must refuse." Anakin was finding it difficult to speak. "When I was initiated as a Padawan, I had to make several pledges. One was to act selflessly, avoiding accolades and practicing humility. Given my situation, it is imperative I follow all my pledges to the letter."

As she pulled the medal back, Padme appeared to lose all composure. Anakin could see tears in her eyes. She turned around and walked to her dresser to hide her reaction. After placing the medal on the dresser, she wiped away the tears before turning back around to walk back to him. Anakin was thoroughly confused why she appeared to be so broke up over him simply refusing the medal.

Given the way Padme was acting, Anakin was glad he had brought along a gift for her. "Despite the fact that I declined your gift, I would hope that you would not do the same for me. As I said before, I would not be a Jedi without you. I owe you, and I brought you this gift as a token of my appreciation.

To Anakin's delight, Padme did not hesitate to take the gift from him. When she opened the box, she was too stunned to say anything. She stared at it, her mouth agape.

"This is your lightsaber."

"It's not mine anymore," Anakin pointed out. "As part of my training, Obi-Wan said I needed to construct my own. He told me I was free to do with that one whatever I wanted, so I thought I would give it to you."

"I'm touched Anakin." She pulled it out of the box and inspected it.

"I will leave you alone." Anakin bowed to her before he turned to leave.

"Anakin," Padme called. He turned around to see what she wanted. "I-I will never forget you."

"I know."

 **...**

"I can't believe you are leaving like this," Obi-Wan said to Yoda. "You are close to death, and you are taking off to a location you won't tell anyone about, so you can die alone." The two of them were standing outside an Alderanian shuttle that had been provided for Yoda by Bail Organa. It was small but equipped with hyperdrive.

"Yes, old Jedi tradition, it is. Death, it is not. Passing into other world, it is."

Obi-Wan didn't know why Yoda had selected him to be the last one he would speak to, but he had a good idea why. "You aren't leaving over the decision to train Anakin, are you?"

"Disagree with decision, I do. Reason for me leaving, it is not."

"Why does Anakin's training worry you so much?"

"Powerful, he is, but also reckless. Great danger there is in training him to utilize his Force abilities."

"But what would you have us do?" Obi-Wan was almost whining, which was very unbecoming for a Jedi. "I know you are concerned over his use of the dark side, but that is exactly why I need to train him. If I train him properly, I can steer him away from the dark side. If we had cut him loose, like you wanted, he would never learn how to push away the dark side and would be even more likely to embrace it and fall to it."

"Fall to the dark side, he still could. After learning to harness his abilities, lose him we could. More powerful dark Jedi would he be if never trained." Obi-Wan conveyed his disapproval of Yoda's reproach with a hard stare.

"Left him on Tatooine, you should have." With those harsh words, Yoda turned and started walking up the ramp to the ship. Right as he reached it, he turned around to say one final thing to Obi-Wan.

"Be mindful of the Force during the war. Grave consequences there will be for the galaxy, I fear. Gone out, the lights of the galaxy have. Long time, it will be, before they shine again."

 **...**

Anakin walked through the Naboo Congress hall. He was walking to join the Jedi Council on one of the balconies, where they were set to watch that night's victory parade. He was almost there when he felt Padme talk to him through her mind.

 _Come and meet me._

 _Where,_ he replied.

 _Feel where I am._

 **...**

Padme's presence in the Force served as a beacon to Anakin. He was able to lock on to her and feel where she was. He was surprised to learn she was out in the middle of the forest. He wondered what she would be doing out there and why she would want him to come to her. He sensed she was calm, even joyous, and that just added to the puzzle.

He encountered no one as he walked out to meet her. When he was just a short distance away from her, he saw she was standing in the middle of a circle of torches. He could also sense someone was with her.

"Padme, Soala," he said when he reached them and stepped inside the circle of torches. "Why did you ask me to come out here?"

Padme swallowed hard before replying. "A couple days ago, Soala suggested we forget about all the rules preventing us from being together. We deserve happiness and should be experiencing it right now. I was supposed to ask you to marry me, secretly, when I gave you the medal, but then you declined it. I took that as a sign you would never betray your Jedi pledges. Soala convinced me I couldn't just drop it like that. You needed to know what I really wanted."

Anakin had to keep his emotions in check as he walked over to her and took her hands in his. "I want this." They kissed before they turned their attention to Soala. She led them through the ceremony. They pledged themselves to each other before Soala declared them husband and wife. They sealed the pact with a kiss, which was brief as they were interrupted by the sound of small explosions in the sky. They looked up to see the explosions were nothing more than fireworks going off to signal the start of the parade.

Realizing they had to get back, Anakin and Padme kissed one last time before they embraced. "Come to my room after the parade," Padme whispered in his ear. Anakin ran back to the palace separately, as he didn't want to risk being seen with the two girls.

 **...**

Celebrations were taking place all around the galaxy: Coruscant, Neimoidia, Alderaan, Mandalore, Muun. Many citizens were excited about the war, as they believed it would be short and result in a glorious victory for their side.

On Naboo, the Jedi Council and the political dignitaries watched from separate balconies. Anakin and Padme took every chance they could to steal glances at each other. It pained them that they would have to keep their marriage a secret from everyone, but they both realized once the war was over, they could be together. With the galaxy in peace, Anakin could leave the Jedi and be with her. There were many who believed the war would be short. Hopefully, it would not be long until they could live together as husband and wife.

 **Epilogue**

The holographic image of Darth Plagueis appeared in front of Darth Sidious. He scowled at the human as he spoke to him.

"So, my apprentice. It appears that you have been able to set-up your own path to become ruler of the galaxy. It is my job to remind you, all this was my plan. I was the one who spent years manipulating everyone into starting this war so that I would become the galactic ruler. You are nothing more than a usurper riding my coattails."

"You had a plan with serious deficiencies, I merely perfected it." Sidious forced himself to sound pleasant as he talked. "It wasn't a bad plan, in its own right. After the assassination of Queen Amidala, the cry of vengeance in the Senate was to lead me to become the new chancellor. Continuing with the desire for vengeance, I was to command the Republic's forces to carry out attacks they were not prepared for. Your superior forces would wipe them out quickly. The Republic would sue for peace and surrender unconditionally to you, leaving you as the ruler of the galaxy, and me as the defeated former ruler graciously brought into your administration."

"And what deficiencies were there in that plan, other than you wouldn't be the single all-powerful ruler."

"Your plan would have completely destroyed the Republic, and all the institutions that are actually needed to run things. All your underlings would have been the uncivilized warlords you had to ally with to seize power. Your plan would have led to you seizing the Republic from the outside, destroying it in the process. By seizing power from the inside, I am maintaining the real power in the galaxy, the bureaucracy."

"All this supposes your military will actually be able to defeat mine. While my plan called for you to lead it to its utter annihilation, simply holding it back will not save you. My forces are still vastly superior in number to yours."

"For now, but the Republic is much larger, and has more resources overall to call on. I just have to hold out long enough, and I will be able to build a military bigger and more powerful than yours."

"And what makes you think you will be able to hold out for that long?"

"I have Admiral Thrawn, a tactical genius on my side to make the most of the forces I have. More importantly, I have Anakin Skywalker, an immensely powerful Jedi that has just been discovered and accepted into the Order. He won the Battle of Naboo for us, and will win one battle after another for us."

"Yes, I heard about him. Something tells me you would have never dared to oppose me without him on your side. I must say, with your actions, you have proven yourself to be a worthy Sith. This is how I always expected it would go. You would not be a true Sith if you didn't try to supplant me and seize power yourself. Your actions speak well of me in choosing you as my apprentice."

"I am no longer your apprentice," Sidious yelled back. "There is no master-apprentice relationship between us. We are equals now."

Plagueis smirked over the insinuation. "If we are equals, then only one of us can survive this war and seize the power we both crave. From here on out we are enemies." He paused as he lit his red saber and held the blade in front of his face in salute. "May the best Sith win." Sidious pulled out his lightsaber and returned the salute.

 **Coming Soon**

 **Episode II: Empire Ascendant**


End file.
